A car park beside the Caledonian Canal in Inverness will be closed all summer to enable construction work to take place as part of the new West Link project.
This is needed to allow for the demolition of the old Highland rugby club at Canal Parks car park in the south-west of the city.
A new rugby clubhouse is being built at the site, and upgrades will be made to the existing grass pitches and a new fourth generation synthetic rugby pitch will be built to international playing standards.
Temporary access to the canal towpath from this location will be put in place at Whin Park, with a signed route for walkers put in place directing them to the towpath.
It is expected this arrangement will remain in place until the end of August, when the new access routes are completed and opened to the public.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “Highland Council apologises for any inconvenience this necessary measure may cause and, along with Contractor, Wills bros, will endeavour to minimise disruption to the public at this time.”
The work forms part of the first phase of the £55million West Link project.
A giant crane was recently used to lift massive steel beams in place for the construction of the new River Ness bridge, which will connect the north and south sections of the road.
By 2020, motorists should be able to travel from the A96 Aberdeen road and A9 Perth route, along the southern distributor road to the A82 Fort William road, via a new bridge over the River Ness and a swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal.
It is hoped completion of the congestion-busting bypass will take thousands of vehicles out of the city centre.
The project has also opened up land for housing and other economic development at Ness-side and Torvean. Work on the bridge began shortly after Tulloch Homes unveiled a £250million vision to build 800 homes on land at Ness-side. According to the masterplan, the homes – 200 of them affordable – will be built over the next 10 years to help tackle the city’s housing shortfall.
All work connected with phase one of the project and the Canal Parks Enhancement works are running to schedule.