Transport bosses have put the brakes on plans to accelerate the dualling of the A9 between Inverness and Perth - due to concerns it wouldn't save any time.
The BBC reports that, following a request from MSPs, Transport Scotland warned trying to speed up upgrades to the route risked impacting the revised end date of 2035.
A committee report presented to Transport Scotland in October called for dualling of certain sections of the A9 to be brought forward.
Now, in a report published this week, Transport Scotland said it considered such a move but concluded that its current scheduling "achieves an earlier overall completion date than would be achieved were it to be rescheduled".
It did, however, say there could be scope to bring forward improvements to the Dalnaspidal Junction at Glen Garry and that this would be investigated.
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said "real progress" was already being made on the £3billion project, adding that a £5million package of new short-term safety measures would be put in place by the end of March.
She said: "I believe that the report demonstrates that the delivery plan is a robust and practical approach to undertaking this large programme of work in the years ahead."