The first section of the biggest road project in Scottish history is on track for completion in the summer.
The five-mile stretch of the A9 between Kincraig and Dalraddy has been the scene of busy roadworks since September, 2015.
But work is now nearing an end on the section south of Aviemore – which is the first to be turned into dual carriageway as part of the overall £3billion scheme to transform the notorious road between Inverness and Perth.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “Work to upgrade the A9 to dual carriageway between Kincraig and Dalraddy continues to progress well. The project is now entering its final stages and the dual carriageway is expected to open this summer.”
The venture was confirmed as having a summer 2017 completion date when work began two years ago.
The short section alone has cost around £35million to complete.
So far, it is the only one of the 11 sections making up the overall scheme where construction has begun, although design work and ground investigations have been carried out along the length of the road.
The Scottish Government is confident the dualling works will improve safety on the road which became notorious as an accident hotspot.
The scheme is also expected to deliver an economic benefit by cutting journey times from Inverness to the central belt.
Speaking at the launch of work on the Kincraig to Dalraddy stretch in 2015, government cabinet secretary Keith Brown said: “”This is the main economic spinal route linking the north and south of Scotland.
“It is vitally important to communities, commuters and tourists.
“It’s important as well to make this a road that people can drive safely and dualling it will help to achieve a safer road, which makes it a very important project for the whole of Scotland.
“The journey times will improve with the dualling and the safer overtaking which will be possible. It really should have been done decades ago, but we are the first government to commit to actually dualling the entire A9 between Inverness and Perth.”
The Kincraig to Dalraddy section has a joint venture by two Irish companies – Wills Bros Civil Engineering and John Paul Construction.
The work has involved 700,000 tonnes of excavation and more than 44 acres of new carriageway being laid.
