The project team carried out extensive consultations with stakeholders and landowners which allowed them to identify primary constraints and to assess the impacts of a wide range of environmental factors such as ecology, land use, archaeology, geology and drainage. Extensive traffic surveys were also carried out along the route to improve the understanding of traffic volumes and patterns. Several corridor alignments were evaluated against a rigorous assessment process until a Preferred Corridor was identified. This work is reported in the Preliminary Options Report and resulted in the Preferred Corridor being identified - in effect a reduced study area.