Work will start in the New Year on the widening of Culloden Road to provide a new access into the new Inverness Campus which Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is developing at Beechwood.
The Highland Council has awarded a contract amounting to £1.5m to Wills Bros Ltd., Civil Engineering Contractors, to carry out the improvement works which will also improve capacity on a key route into the city from the south.
HIE is contributing £300,000 towards the cost of the 20-week contract, which will commence in January 2013 and be completed in May 2013.
The works will involve widening the existing road from two to four lanes over its length between Caulfield Road North and the southern approaches to the Inshes Overbridge. A new access will be provided into the Campus which is under construction immediately opposite the existing A9 slip road.
New synchronised traffic lights will be installed linking the junctions and this, along with the four new lanes, will enhance the capacity of this key arterial route into Inverness from the south.
Councillor Graham Phillips, Chairman of TEC Services, said: “I am pleased that funding could be found to upgrade this part of Culloden Road and improve connectivity to Inverness Campus as well as deliver additional capacity on Culloden Road. Over the period of the works it is anticipated the public will experience a certain amount of disruption but this will be kept to a minimum and the Council apologises for any delays that may be experienced during the course of the works. “
HIE is developing Inverness Campus as a premier business, academic and research location for the Highlands and Islands.
Ruaraidh MacNeil, HIE’s director for the project said: “Progress at Inverness Campus is moving ahead apace, with all infrastructure works on schedule and set to be finished by end of May 2013. The vast majority of the ‘below ground’ works are now complete and what will be the final shape of the Campus infrastructure is emerging quickly.
“Inverness Campus will open next year with fully-serviced development plots available for businesses and research organisations looking to benefit from co-location with academic institutions. Scottish Government designation of part of the Campus as an Enterprise Area for Life Sciences offers the opportunity for specific incentives, such as rates relief and a streamlined planning process, for those in this key sector. The largest occupier on the site, Inverness College UHI, is set to open for business in August 2015.”