Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson yesterday signed a contract for a long-awaited bypass.
The Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass in Moray, which will relieve traffic on the heavily-congested A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, will be completed by Morrison Construction.
The £31.5million project will take two-and-a-half years to complete, and will see a three-mile stretch of single-carriageway road built between Mosstodloch and Fochabers, bypassing the current route through the High Street.
New roundabouts will also be put in at the Baxters factory and at the A98 junction to Fraserburgh.
Cycle and pedestrian lanes will be improved and underpasses built for pupils travelling from Mosstodloch to the primary and high schools at Fochabers.
Speaking at Fochabers Square yesterday, Mr Stevenson said: “The bypass will relieve a much-congested part of the A96. Even off-peak traffic is at a standstill here.
“It will be built to the highest standard to minimise the disruption caused to people living near to the works.”
Campaigner Sandy Horne, 80, of Moreland Street, Fochabers, has been a member of the Fochabers Bypass Action Group since it was formed at a public meeting in 1991.
The group has spent years protesting and lobbying for the bypass, which was hit by several delays.
Mr Horne was yesterday delighted at the news that work could start within weeks.
He said: “It has been a long struggle but we kept on going and never gave up hope. The traffic is so bad here that conversation is impossible on the high street.”
Moray MP Angus Robertson and MSP Richard Lochhead were also at Fochabers to hear the announcement.
Angus Robertson said: “This project is a massive investment in Moray by the Scottish Government.
“As someone who stays nearby and visits the town regularly I know just how busy it can be and how frustrating it is for residents to simply try and cross the street.”
MSP Richard Lochhead said: “The communities of Fochabers and Mosstodloch have fought long and hard for a bypass and I am delighted that an SNP government has been able to deliver this project.”
Fochabers councillor Douglas Ross paid tribute to the hard work of the Fochabers Bypass Action Group. “A lot of time and effort from many people in both Fochabers and Mosstodloch has gone into securing a bypass and the announcement is a testament to their dedication to the cause.
“The challenges faced by those campaigning for this improvement have been long and hard, but those problems are now in the past and everyone can now focus on the bypass being completed.”