Construction work has started on a "notorious" bottleneck on the A96 at Inveramsay Bridge, it has been announced.

The project, at a cost of £10m, will bring a number of benefits for road users when it is completed.

Balfour Beatty is the appointed contractor for the work and will be responsible for constructing 1.5km of new road, as well as a new bridge that will allow the A96 trunk road to be realigned over the Aberdeen to Inverness railway.

The improvements will reduce the likelihood of bridge strikes by realigning the A96 to avoid the low headroom bridge. It will also improve traffic flow through the area by allowing two-way traffic on the trunk road, without the need for traffic signals which are currently in place.

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Improvement work is expected to be completed in 2016.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: "The start of work at Inveramsay Bridge is a significant milestone for road users and when complete will bring huge benefits through reduced congestion and improved journey time reliability.

"This work is just part of a package of transport improvement work under way right across the north-east. We have made an enormous financial commitment to bring transport up to the standard the north east deserves – nearly £1 billion of investment – underlining the important part we see the region playing in supporting sustainable economic growth across Scotland."

George Hood, Balfour Beatty Managing Director for Northern Scotland, added: "Balfour Beatty is delighted to be working with Transport Scotland to deliver another significant infrastructure project in the North East of Scotland. Disruption to drivers will be kept to an absolute minimum and when completed the benefits of this improvement will be welcomed by all."

(JP/CD)