Keeping traffic flowing during A9 upgrade 'a challenge'

Maintaining traffic flow on the A9 is one of the major challenges for those behind the £3.9bn dualling of the route between Inverness and Perth, says Balfour Beatty.

But the civil engineering firm added that the completed project would lead to improved safety, mean fewer delays and better travel times.

Currently work is being carried out on the Tomatin to Moy section, which includes construction of a new rail bridge over the Highland Main Line.

Almost six miles (9.6km) of single carriageway is also being dualled.

David Taylor, project director with Balfour Beatty, said: "The main challenge is keeping the traffic running smoothly, north and south, to make sure no one is delayed."

He said the completed project would make a "huge difference" for people travelling the A9.

"In addition to the dual carriageway, there's lots of side roads and cycle ways that are getting constructed," he said.

Taylor said accessibility, better travel times and safety would primarily be the ultimate aims and benefits of the project.

The scheme is running a decade late, after an earlier Scottish government pledge that the whole road would be dualled by 2025 was missed.

First Minister John Swinney visited the site near Tomatin on Monday.

He said all steps were being taken to ensure the A9 was dualled and to make sure that a significant economic connection for the Highlands into central Scotland was established.

Last month, the Scottish government confirmed that the cost of the project would be paid for from the public purse, rather than private finance.