A contractor has been selected to take forward ground investigation work as part of the A90 Haudagain Improvement scheme.

Transport Scotland has announced its intention to award a £186,000 ground investigation contract to Soil Engineering Geoservices Limited subject to completion of the mandatory standstill period.

The work is programmed to start in November and is expected to be on site for a period of six weeks.

The work is part of the Stage 3 assessment for the scheme and it is expected that draft Orders will be published next Summer.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “The Scottish Government is committed to tackling the traffic bottleneck at Haudagain which has caused congestion for motorists using the A90 for many years.

“Having given north east communities the opportunity to view and comment on the preferred option for the scheme earlier this year, we are now about to start ground investigations which will provide the detailed information we need to shape the scheme’s design.

“We are progressing preparations for the Haudagain scheme as quickly as possible with draft orders expected to be published next summer. This will ensure construction work can start as soon as the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is completed in spring 2018.”