The Full Council of Perth & Kinross Council are to meet today (7 May) to consider a report on Phase 1 of the Perth Transport Futures Project.

This is the A9/A85 junction and the link road to Bertha Park, as well as the resource implications associated with it, and it is thought that Councillors will be asked to approve Council borrowing of up to £15.7m, subject to confirmation of the final cost of the scheme.

Last June, the local authority confirmed its commitment to go ahead with Phase 1 of the Perth Transport Future Project. A majority of ground investigation works, in liaison with Transport Scotland at various locations in the area to the north east of the A85 in the vicinity of the A9 overbridge to Bertha Park, have since been completed and no issues with the ground conditions for the construction of carriageway infrastructure have been discovered.

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Further trials adjacent to the A9 are expected to be undertaken shortly.

As the design of the project develops, an updated estimate of cost was also carried out which revealed a "significant" increase in costs, the Council said in a statement, but added that this is due to a number of factors including changing design standards as well as constraints in relation to the river and road crossings.

The revised estimate, which now includes all scheme costs, is estimated at £39.2m but there is the potential for this to be reduced by as much as £7.6m.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Miller, said: "This is a very ambitious and significant scheme that will require major investment by the Council. The importance of this new infrastructure for the future of Perth and Kinross means that the work simply has to be carried out.

"Without these improvements Perth will be unable to develop as a city. Not only will the project improve air quality in Perth and reduce congestion but it will also bring increased investment into the area and allow for the sustainable development of the city thanks to the improved roads network.

"This project has our full commitment due to its importance to the future development of our local economy."

(JP/IT)