Plans for the most northerly stretch of the A9 dualling scheme were revealed at a public exhibition yesterday.
Work will start in 2018 at the earliest to upgrade the 5.3mile section between Tomatin and Moy, south of Inverness.
Residents praised the effort that had gone into the proposals, which were on display at Strathdearn Village Hall.
Transport Scotland has proposed that the project will involve widening to the northbound side of the route from the southern tie-in point to the existing dual carrigeway for 2.8miles.
From this point northwards, options remain for widening either the southbound or northbound side.
Main junction locations for accessing the road have been considered at Tomatin north, Moy south and Moy north.
The images will be on display again today from 11am-4pm.
Donald MacAskill, a resident of Altdhubhag, Tomatin, said: “It is a good exhibition and it is actually a better layout than I imagined. I used to be in ground investigation and there are no major streams to cross, just the railway. I am pleasantly surprised by what is on show.”
Angus Maclennan, of Resaurie in Inverness, said: “The proposals are very comprehensive. Anything will be an improvement on what is there just now. It is just a pity they did not do it from day one, but that is then and this is now.”
Transport Scotland project manager Gerard McPhillips said: “We are trying to put forward a couple of options to see what people think and then we can get their feedback.
“The people are local and they know the situation so asking them for comments is important. There has been more consultation at this stage on the A9 dualling than on any other Transport Scotland project.”
The deadline for public responses to the project is December 8.
The new dualled section of road will fill the gap between dual carriageway stretches between Inverness-Moy and Tomatin-Carrbridge.
It is the most northerly section of the £3billion dualling programme.
It is seen as having the fewest constraints compared to other sections due to be dualled, but will require some work on junctions and access roads.