Eighteen miles of Deeside will be served by just three river crossings after another bridge was rendered unsafe due to flood damage.
The Dee Bridge in Banchory will be closed for the best part of four weeks as of tomorrow for urgent repairs following the destruction caused by Storm Frank.
It is the latest in a string of bridge closures along the length of the river, with Drumoak’s Park Bridge closed last week.
The Potarch Bridge has only recently reopened having been closed for repairs following structural damage.
And yesterday, locals voiced fears that the latest closure would lead to further congestion on the one-lane Bridge of Feugh, just south of the Banchory crossing.
The Dee Bridge has suffered damage to its pier foundations, with Aberdeenshire Council announcing it will be closed from 9am until 3.30pm from Monday to Friday, and possibly at weekends.
This means the 18-mile Deeside stretch between Culter and Potarch- home to five bridges – will be served by only three river crossings much of the time.
The Maryculter and Crathes bridges remain open.
Aberdeenshire Council’s head of roads and landscape services, Philip McKay, said: “The severe weather at the beginning of the year has caused damage to the pier foundations of the Bridge of Dee.
“These works commencing on Tuesday are to repair this damage.
“This is part of a wider programme of inspections we are undertaking to ensure that all of our structures are safe following the severe weather.”
Secretary of the Feughdee Community Council, Nicola Loosely, said it would be an “inconvenience” for locals south of Banchory.
She added: “It is one of those things that has to be fixed. It is possible it is going to cause a lot of congestion over the Feugh bridge from people using the South Deeside Road.
“The Feugh bridge is a little bridge, it could cause a problem. It is already quite a hazardous crossing. It is not the easiest of ones. But with it being closed between 9am and 3.30pm, it is not going to be affecting school traffic.”
Banchory councillor Linda Clark said: “Whilst these things are difficult for people, if an accident occurs, that is far worse.
“In the great scheme of things, we have had nature throw everything at us in the past few weeks. It does things and it has affected the bridge.
“How would anybody feel if somebody had a bad accident with the rivers the way they are now? People could die.
“I think we have got to just trust the experts, however difficult it is.”
