Councillors were told that the proposed east link road in Inverness maybe not be necessary right now – but it will be essential in the coming years.
Members of the City of Inverness area committee were told today that plans for the contentious new link road were being based on figures based on major population growth in the east of the city.
Members of the committee agreed yesterday to ask Transport Scotland to investigate two different options for the road in greater detail.
Both would feature a single carriageway running between the A9 at Inshes and the A96 at Smithton roundabout.
The Inshes end would link into the southern distributor road near to the retail park.
There would also be a new access between the road and the developing Inverness campus site.
Councillor Jim Crawford, Inverness South questioned the need for the road and called for smaller roads to link into the new campus site.
He said: “There is no real call for connectivity between the A9 and the A96 in this way in my experience.
“What there is, is a need to open up a route from the Smithton end into the campus. It is essential that access is provided to the campus as quickly as possible.”
The various options range in cost from £50million-£90million, with a final decision on the route due to be taken by Transport Scotland in the next year.
Community councils have argued there is no need for the road to be built at all, as it does not address concerns about congestion at major junctions on the A9.
Highland Council’s acting head of infrastructure Colin Howell told yesterday’s meeting that the routes had been drawn up to suit projected population growth in the east of the city.
The authority expect continued development in farmland around where the road would run.
Councillor Thomas Prag said the two proposed solutions offered the most “pragmatic” approach.
But Councillor Allan Duffy argued that the council should pursue an a dual carriageway route, which had been dropped by Transport Scotland on grounds that it would not meet the needs of the area.
All proposed routes include upgrading the Longman Roundabout to an interchange similar to the one at Raigmore at a cost of up to £50million to help improve traffic flow.