The Scottish Government is just days away from unveiling its preferred route for the link road connecting the A9 and the A96.
The multimillion-pound project for the Inshes to Smithton road scheme is aimed to cut congestion, particularly during rush hours between Nairn and Inverness.
The proposed route for the new single carriageway linking the A9 and A96 trunk roads east of Inverness can be viewed at Inshes Church on October 31 and Smithton-Culloden Free Church the following day.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: “As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment within the £315million Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, we have been progressing option design and assessment work for a single carriageway road connecting Inshes and Smithton in the Highland capital.
“We now have identified a preferred route option for the scheme and we are set to unveil our proposals.
“I would encourage anyone with an interest to come along to one of the venues on October 31 or November 1 to view our plans and to have an opportunity to discuss them with our team and provide vital comments.
“The material from the exhibitions will also be available from the Transport Scotland website from 12 noon on 31 October.”
The preferred option could cost in the region of £50million.
As well as directing traffic away from the Raigmore Interchange, a new link road is seen as vital for unlocking land earmarked for development around Smithton.
The Strategic Transport Projects Review, published in 2008, set out the Scottish Government’s transport investment priorities over the coming decades.
Specific trunk road interventions emerging from the review included upgrading the A96 between Inverness and Nairn with a new link connecting the A96 and A9 east of Inverness.
The link road is part of a wider project which includes taking the A9 directly over the Longman roundabout at the end of the Kessock Bridge to ease bottlenecks.
The flyover would be similar to that in place at the Raigmore Interchange.
