Prospective bidders to build the £30 million Maybole bypass project have been shortlisted and invited to participate in the next stage of the procurement competition.

The successful bidders for the A77 project are: Farrans Roadbridge, John Paul Construction, R J McLeod and Wills Bros.

This next stage of procurement will see the four bidders enter into a commercially sensitive period of competitive dialogue which will last until autumn 2018.

The successful bidder will be required to build a new 5km off-line bypass and associated junctions. The bypass will separate local road users from those travelling longer distances, including to the ports and will lead to improved road safety for local communities and road users, as well as providing better journey time reliability.

Humza Yousaf, minister for transport and islands, said: “This announcement marks another significant milestone towards delivering a bypass for the town of Maybole and comes hot on the heels of ground investigation work which got underway earlier this month.

“The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering the Maybole Bypass and recent progress will enable work to press ahead in the New Year to bring much needed relief for the Maybole community as well as improving journey times for long distance road users.”

Following the award of the construction contract, work is expected to get underway on the main construction by the end of 2018.