Drivers will face a reduced 50mph speed limit on a stretch of the A9 north of Perth for the next 18 months as work takes place on the Cross Tay Link Road.
Earthworks for the project are taking place north of the Inveralmond Roundabout as construction of the new road gets under way.
The route will link the A9 with the A94 at Scone, to the north of the city, with a bridge over the River Tay.
The reduced speed limit will affect the A9 for four miles north of Inveralmond.
The earthworks involves the removal of more than one million cubic metres of earth away from the construction site – the equivalent of more than 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth.
The material will be used elsewhere in the project.
Derek Walsh, project manager for contractor Bam Nuttall, said: “To help keep carbon emissions to a minimum, this project has been designed to recycle every tonne of earth that needs to be moved.
“All earth excavations will be moved to form other features over the course of the construction.”
‘Sustainable plan’ for works site
The new road aims to reduce traffic congestion and pollution in Perth city centre.
It is the largest infrastructure project Perth and Kinross Council has ever undertaken.
Jillian Ferguson, the local authority’s roads infrastructure manager, said: “By keeping all earth movements within the site boundary, we have in place a sustainable plan that will prevent extra construction traffic being added to the roads network as a result of earthworks operations, with the increased pressure that would put on traffic flows in and around the city.”
The work comes after a newly-dualled section of the A9 opened last August.
But no definitive timescales have been given for completing the work to dual the entire stretch between Perth and Inverness.
It prompted calls earlier this month from former government minister Fergus Ewing for the work to be sped up.
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