Balfour Beatty has been confirmed as the winner of a £184.7m deal to upgrade a section of the section of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy for Transport Scotland.
The firm was shortlisted last November alongside John Graham and Sacyr for the job, which comprises upgrading a 9.6km stretch of single carriageway to a dual carriageway.
The work will also include building three new bridges and replacing the Moy Rail Bridge, plus new side roads and junction upgrades and more than 10km of improved active travel routes to encourage cycling and walking.
In total, the scheme is expected to employ a workforce of up to 180 people at its peak.
Hector MacAulay MBE, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s regional business in Scotland, said: 'The A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project will continue to deliver far reaching benefits to the Scottish economy, creating hundreds of new jobs and stimulating growth of business communities, especially in the tourism industry, as well as improving road user safety.'
The cost of the job has risen since the shortlist was announced last November when the value was put at £150m.
The Tomatin to Moy section is the latest in a £3.7bn upgrade to the A9, with the work split into 11 packages. AtkinsRealis, Jacobs and Mouchel all work as consultants to Transport Scotland on the programme.
The next section of the A9 dualling will be an 8.2km section between the Tay Crossing to Ballinluig, which is expected to cost around £222m in total. A prior information notice for the construction contract, which has been put at £155m, was issued by Transport Scotland in April.
Image: Computer generated image of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy - credit Balfour Beatty
