Plans for a flyover at a junction blackspot on the A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen will go on public display within weeks.
The fight for improvements has taken 15 years to secure.
A report published by contractor Amey on Thursday said the construction programme was expected to start in 2022 and is likely to take 12-15 months to complete.
This will allow for a steel-concrete overbridge to be erected, as well as traffic management and phasing for the embankments and road construction at Laurencekirk.
Full overnight closures of the A90 will be required when construction is under way.
The progress has been welcomed by florist Jill Fotheringham, from Laurencekirk, who began the campaign for action in 2004 following the death of a local man at the junction.
Her efforts paid off in January 2016 when the Scottish Government announced £24 million for the project. Contractor Amey was appointed in September that year.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing how the junction will look,” she said.
“I just wish it wasn’t taking so long.
“I understand that there is a planning process. However during this process we are all facing the usual frustrations and dangers just to cross the A90 at Laurencekirk.”
Locals and road users will get a chance to see the plans at a public exhibition in the Dickson Hall in Laurencekirk on January 10 following the publication of draft orders on Thursday.
Angus North and Mearns SNP MSP Mairi Gougeon said: “It is great to see we are another step forward with the Laurencekirk flyover and that local residents and road users will be given the opportunity to view these proposals.
“None of this would have been possible, however, without the work done by lead campaigner Jill Fotheringham, who started her fight for improvements to this junction around 15 years ago.
“Without this tireless work from Jill, the local community, my predecessor Nigel Don and other North East MSPs we would not be where we are today.”
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine Conservative MP Andrew Bowie said the progress on fixing the junction had been “glacial”.
He said: “I believe it is only through the constant pressure of people like Jill Fotheringham that the SNP government have caved in to these improvements.
“Once we get to January 10, the next stage is for Transport Scotland to commit to a start date.”
North East region Conservative MSP Liam Kerr said paid tribute to “Jill Fotheringham and her active, committed campaigners for dragging this over the line”.
He said: “It shouldn’t have taken 15 years for successive SNP ministers to push the button. But here we are.
“Work must begin during this parliament once a preferred option is chosen.”
Transport secretary Michael Matheson said the publication of draft orders for the scheme was “a major milestone in delivering this much-needed upgrade for the north-east”.
He said: “I would encourage as many people as possible to attend the exhibition on January 10 to see our proposals or view the material online and give us their views.”
