The package includes a western bypass of Crianlarich

He has also asked for detailed studies to help plan an upgrade to a section of the A9.

The move follows Scottish Executive agency Transport Scotland publishing the findings of two major studies on key routes to the Highlands.

The A82 improvements include removing a bottleneck at Loch Lomond, a new bypass and lay-bys.

The A82 Tarbet to Fort William Route Action Plan and A9 Perth to Blair Atholl Route Improvement Strategy were considered by Mr Scott over the past few weeks.

The A82 action plan proposes �90m of improvement works from Tarbet to Fort William over the next 10 years.

Transport Scotland said design work - already approved by the minister for the �16m investment - would be delivered over the next five years.

The package covers:

• An improvement at Pulpit Rock removing a bottleneck at Loch Lomond and traffic lights which have been there for 20 years

• A new western bypass at Crianlarich to allow traffic travelling north avoiding bridges, junctions and narrow roads in the town

• Road safety measures such as more signage, improved road markings, anti-skid surfaces and new drainage

• Lay-bys will be created at 5-8km intervals along the route.

The A9 strategy's aim was to identify the needs of the route between Perth and Blair Atholl and plan how best to address them.

It identified �165m worth of long-term improvement work and recommended that more detailed analysis on this be carried out to confirm the practicality.

The minister has agreed to this and studies will be now carried out on how best to take forward the issues of dualling between Perth and Pitlochry, safe overtaking provision and reconstruction along what is an environmentally sensitive route