The preferred route for the over 4 mile stretch of the road goes on public display today and tomorrow in Pitlochry Town Hall.

Over the next few weeks a series of public exhibitions are to be held to let road users and local communities view and comment on the preferred routes for three more sections of the dualling programme – Pitlochry to Killiecrankie, Tomatin to Moy and Glen Garry to Dalwhinnie - covering over 16 miles of the dualling programme.

Keith Brown, cabinet secretary for the economy, jobs and fair work encouraged people to take the chance to view the proposals.

Mr Brown said: “The A9 Dualling programme is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history. One of the challenges of dualling the route is trying to fit the road through some of the country’s most striking landscapes including the Cairngorms National Park.

“On this stretch of the road our design consultants have worked hard to identify a route that avoids any impact on the area of ancient woodland in Faskally Wood well-known as the home of the popular ‘Enchanted Forest’ event that attracted over 70,000 visitors this year. The preferred route also avoids the need for a new structure over Loch Faskally and will lead to less disruption for road users during construction.

“As part of the design work, we have engaged with landowners and local bodies, including the community council, as well as holding a series of public exhibitions and drop-in sessions as our plans were developed.

“These exhibitions are the first in a series of public engagement events over the next few weeks including the identification of three more preferred routes. Combining these with the three sections we consulted on earlier this year, we have now identified preferred routes for over 36 miles of the 80 miles to be dualled – meaning that nearly half of the route to be dualled is at preferred route status - and we are on target to complete the dualling in 2025.

“At the same time, the construction work on the section between Kincraig and Dalraddy – the first to be dualled – is well underway and is expected to be complete in summer 2017.

“When completed the dualled A9 will bring many benefits including faster journey times, better journey time reliability and road safety improvements for anyone travelling between the cities of Perth and Inverness.”

Compared to the other options, the preferred route for the section of the A9 between Pitlochry and Killiecrankie: