A man in his 20s has been taken to hospital with serious injuries following a two-vehicle crash that closed a major tourist route in the Highlands for several hours.
The incident involving a car and a truck happened shortly before 10am on the A82 Glasgow to Inverness route at Heron Bay south of Fort William.
The busy stretch, which is one of the main roads to the north, was closed in both directions, causing long tailbacks.
Northbound traffic was able to use the Corran Ferry to continue journeys, but other vehicles had to take a 161-mile diversion along the A861 Ardgour to Lochailort road, a circuitous, single-track and mainly coastal route.
As a result the A861 became heavily congested, made worse by another accident involving an overturned van.
The A82 remained closed for more than six hours before it was finally able to re-open in both directions around 4pm.
Traffic Scotland said the flow of vehicles remained heavy and warned drivers to take care and be patient.
A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called around 9.45am following the report of a crash involving a car and a truck on the A82 southbound near Fort William.
“The car driver, a man in his 20s, has been taken to hospital with serious injuries. The road was reopened around 4pm.”
Road safety campaigners have been fighting for many years for improvements to the A82, the main commercial route for goods and services in and out of the West Highlands, Skye and the Western Isles.
There have been a number of serious accidents on the road, including fatalities.
Stewart MacLean, spokesman for the A82 Partnership, an umbrella group for organisations supporting the upgrade of the road, said: “It’s another unfortunate incident on the A82. Having the road closed for six hours is pretty normal I’m afraid when these incidents happen in this area.
“This latest incident highlights the inadequacy of the transport infrastructure in the west Highlands.”
Meanwhile, police in Lochaber are appealing to the public for information following a road accident on the A82 last month where a cyclist was hurt.
The incident happened at 12.20pm on Thursday, August 20, a mile north of the Corran Ferry and involved two cyclists and a white delivery van.
Police said one of the cyclists was forced off the road, resulting in injury and damage to the bike.
The force has asked anyone driving in the area at the time who may have witnessed the accident, or have dash-cam footage, to contact them on 101 or to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously.
A spokesman said: “A number of passing vehicles stopped to assist the cyclists and we would urge any witness to come forward.”
