Raeburn Drilling and Geotechnical Ltd has won a new contract to carry out ground investigation works for the A9 Dualling programme.

The deal is worth more than £2.7 million and will see the contractor investigate a 15 mile stretch of the road from Dalraddy to Slochd.

The remote Slochd summit is the second highest point of the A9 at over 1,300ft above sea level.

Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work said investigations will start next month and are due to last until March 2018.

"The A9 Dualling programme between Perth and Inverness is one of the largest and most challenging infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history and we will be starting further vital ground investigations next month that will support the ongoing design work," he said.

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"This latest significant ground investigation contract will help inform the design work for the section of the route between Dalraddy and Slochd which includes the section of A9 at Aviemore and the dramatic rockface at Slochd.

"Building on the earlier ground investigation work on this part of the route, the investigations will start next month, take a break over the holiday period and then re-commence in January with the work expected to last until March 2018.

"Some of this work will take place on or near the live carriageway and in order to ensure the safety of both road workers and road users we will need to introduce traffic management arrangements.

"Road users and local communities will be kept informed of our plans and we will endeavour to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum."

(LM/MH)