Ground investigation work to begin on new East Link road in Inverness
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Ground investigations will begin on Wednesday and are expected to last around seven weeks.
The vast majority of the work will take place off the line of any existing roads in the area, so traffic disruption will be minimised.
When the road is eventually built it will link the A96 at Smithton with the A9 at Inshes, and will also open up a swathe of farmland for future housing development.
It has been claimed that the new road will ease congestion at the Raigmore Interchange, where the A9 and A96 currently meet, but critics have argued the impact will be minimal - especially once the surrounding land is developed. Opponents have also warned the development will significantly reduce the size of parkland earmarked for east Inverness on the Local Development Plan.
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: "This ground investigation contract will help inform the design work for this new link road in the Highland capital having identified the preferred option last October.
“Although the vast majority of the work will not require any traffic management, a small fraction of investigative work will take place on the carriageway of roads in the area.
“We would thank road users and local communities in advance for their patience during any short duration traffic management operations which may be required as the works progress.
"The contractor will closely monitor the operation of the traffic management measures to ensure that any delays are kept to a minimum.
“While we do not expect major disruption to traffic, we would ask drivers to plan their journeys in advance using the Traffic Scotland website, Twitter feed or Traffic Scotland radio.”
