The Scottish Government's ambitious A9 Dualling Programme has reached another milestone with the publication of draft orders for the penultimate section to be dualled.

The publication of draft orders for the over 10-mile Crubenmore to Kincraig scheme means that eight of the remaining nine schemes at design stage have reached draft Order stage. Local communities on or near the Crubenmore to Kincraig section of the route and road users will get a chance to see the plans at public exhibitions next month.

The last remaining scheme at design stage, Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing, is at an earlier stage of development and we hope to identify a preferred option for this challenging section later this year.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, Michael Matheson said: "The Scottish Government is committed to dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025, one of the biggest transport infrastructure projects in Scotland's history, and we remain on target to meet that commitment.

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"The work is continuing across the route and road users are benefiting from the new dualled stretch between Kincraig and Dalraddy which opened to traffic last year. Advance works are already underway on the next section to be dualled between Luncarty and Pass of Birnam and now that we have announced the intention to award the main works construction contract, we expect construction to start in the coming months.

"The design work on the remaining parts of the dualling programme is progressing at pace. Hard on the heels of publishing draft Orders for the Dalraddy to Slochd scheme last week, we have now done the same for the Crubenmore to Kincraig scheme. This means that eight of the remaining nine schemes have now reached that important milestone.

"The last part of the dualling, through the Dunkeld and Birnam area, has been subject to a co-creative process and the community have identified their preferred route option. Transport Scotland is now taking forward further design and assessment work on this option to develop it further and consult locally before submitting it to Scottish Ministers for consideration.

"I would encourage anyone with an interest in the Crubenmore to Kincraig scheme to attend the exhibitions next month or view the draft Orders and Environmental Statements online and give us their views on our proposals."

(MH/LM)