Work to repair a landslide on a Moray road could cost up to £1.2milllion.
Contractors are being asked to put themselves forward for the work at Meikle Cantly, on the A95 Keith to Glenbarry road.
A tender document published today sets the cost of the work as an estimated £683,000.
Moray Council previously attempted to carry out the works, but had to put it on hold after the one bid received was over budget.
Officials were forced to reconsider the amount set aside for the works in the 2022/2023 budget.
The remedial works have been delayed since December 2019.
‘Significantly higher’
When the project gets under way it is expected to last around three months.
Traffic lights have been in place since early December 2019 when erosion from the River Isla, undermined the slope supporting the road, causing the landslip.
In 2021, a contract for the project was put out to tender with only one bid received at a significantly higher cost than originally forecast.
The work was deferred until 2022/23 for more money to be put aside in the budget.
Road maintenance manager Mark Atherton said: “We’re aware of massive disruption in the construction industry just now owing to a number of worldwide market factors.
“Suppliers have said they didn’t tender for this particular contract due to having large volumes of other work on and no capacity to deliver the project in the preferred timescale.
“The costs associated with this project have also come back as a lot higher than anticipated, which has rendered the job unfeasible this year.
“We appreciate the deep frustration when works like this go on longer than projected, we feel it too, and we’re grateful to road users in the area for their patience as we face obstacles out-with our control.”
Public Contract Scotland published the notice on its website earlier today.
Conversation