Transport Minister Keith Brown has unveiled details of the bidders to tender for Transport Scotland’s A75 Dunragit Bypass and A77 Symington to Bogend Toll schemes.

The Minister also said procurement of the £20m A75 Hardgrove scheme would get underway at the end of this month with the publication of the OJEU notice inviting expressions of interest from contractors.

Construction of all three schemes is expected to start early in 2013 and be completed during 2014.

Brown said: “By enhancing routes such as the A75 and the A77, we are making real safety improvements by reducing the frustration often caused by congestion or slow moving traffic.

“By also improving connectivity , we can also make Scotland an attractive option for business, leisure and tourism.”

Planning is also being taken forward for the future upgrade of the A77 as set out in the Scottish Government’s Strategic Transport Projects Review.

As part of this work, Halcrow has been awarded a £200,000 contract for a study between Meiklewoood and Smithston to identify what upgrades are required to key junctions and links along this 22-mile stretch of the A77.

Halcrow’s study will consider a range of factors, including the impact of planned developments and current and future traffic levels for the area. The outcomes of the study will allow Ministers to be better informed about the required upgrades and the order in which they should be prioritised.

A contract has also been awarded to Amey for preparatory work on the A75 scheme and this gets underway this month.

The work will provide further ground information to the contractors bidding for the construction of the scheme.