Companies offered contracts worth £2bn to dual last 58 miles of A9

Transport Scotland says civil engineering firms will be able to bid for contracts worth a total of £1.94bn to complete the dualling of the A9 between Inverness and Perth.

The agency has published a contract notice covering the remaining 58 miles (93 km) of the road not already going through a procurement process.

It said the first of these final contracts would be for the Dalraddy and Slochd section, south of Inverness.

This stretch includes the replacement of three junctions, including one near Carrbridge.

In January, the Scottish government said the road dualling was on course to be completed by the end of 2035, with half to be done by the end of 2030.

The original target date for the whole project had been 2025.

The Scottish government also said remaining sections would be paid for from its capital budget - rather than using public and private investment.

The overall cost of the project is £3bn.

Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn said: "We have listened to the construction industry and have refreshed our delivery model to support this government's commitment to delivering dualling of the A9 by the end of 2035.

"This announcement today is evidence of our continued commitment to full dualling of the A9."