A VITAL road closed by a landslide three days before Christmas is scheduled to partially reopen in three weeks and will be back to full use a month later.
The A890 Stromeferry by-pass on the south side of Loch Carron, which connects Wester Ross to Skye and Kyle of Lochalsh, has been closed due to the risk of rockfall since December 22.
Highland Council has appointed contractor TRAC Engineering Ltd to carry out rock stabilisation over the next two months.
Engineers are confident they will have made enough progress to enable the council to partially reopen the road, between 8am and 6pm, from February 17.
During the night-time closures, TRAC's engineers will apply netting to the slope and remove loose rock. However, a long-term solution could cost between £40m and £70m.
The main options to have been proposed are a new road bridge at the Strome narrows in Loch Carron, extended avalanche shelters over the existing road, and a new road inland by Glen Udalain.
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