Councillors have backed plans to overhaul an Inverness bottleneck junction as part of wider plans for transport in the south of the city.
However, planning bosses revealed yesterday that plans for the Inshes Roundabout could not be set in stone until they know how Transport Scotland plans to link the A9 and the A96 trunk roads would work.
It is proposed to create a crossroads between Old Perth Road and Sir Walter Scott Drive. with traffic lights and slip roads instead of the roundabout.
The public will be consulted at events on May 30 and June 3, when also Transport Scotland will reveal their plans for the long mooted East Link Road.
Councillor Thomas Prag, chairman of the planning development and infrastructure committee, yesterday said: “This is an incredibly important and busy part of the town.
“There is the new Inverness Campus, Raigmore Hospital, Carlton Bingo, the police headquarters, Tesco and the retail park and so on.
“There are so many people use the road and the roundabout. I myself use it nearly everyday and I know we have to do something about it.”
The initial proposal for the area by Highland Council involving cutting the number of roads entering Inshes Roundabout from six to four.
It will be turned into a crossroads, controlled by traffic lights and filter lanes, while a number of other junctions on Old Perth Road will also be changed to improve traffic flow the area.
Acting head of infrastructure Colin Howell put the plans before councillors yesterday, but stressed that nothing was set in stone.
He said: “We’re actually consulting at a very early stage in the process for this project.
“Nobody should get overly exercised by the plans at this stage. There will be a lot of development, both through the public consultation and what Transport Scotland bring to the table.”
Mr Howell said that the roundabout was currently causing problems due to the fact that the majority of traffic was using the same route, following Old Perth Road, causing queues on other routes.
The council’s plan shows the East Link Road joining the network at an enlarged roundabout within the Inshes Retail Park.
A spokesman for Traffic Scotland confirmed that the agency will display their plans at exhibitions on May 30 and June 3 but they would not be available until then.
