Councillors have allocated more than £1.6million to improve the roads in Badenoch and Strathspey.
The area committee today agreed the budget for the next year, which includes materials such as salt for gritting the roads and work such as resurfacing.
Members of the area committee agreed a large portion of the budget should go towards maintenance of drains, footpaths, gullies and verges as well as freshening up road markings and signs, and some patching works.
But committee chairman Bill Lobban warned that further “substantial” investment would be required to bring the roads up to standard.
Mr Lobban said: “This year sees a substantial increase in the roads maintenance budget and that will, at least, prevent our roads from deteriorating even further.
“But further substantial investment will be required in the forthcoming years.
“Road maintenance is not just about tar and potholes, it’s also about drainage, white lining and a host of other functions.”
Budget breakdown
Some £88,000 of the funds will be used to patch the roads at junctions in various villages.
It also includes £80,325 for surface dressing about three miles of the B9102 Lettoch-Craigvarren road between the Advice junction and Tulchan.
A total of £35,000 is being spent on drainage at South Street, Grantown-on-Spey, and £63,000 on phase one of the A939 Dava road.
Surfacing will be carried out on short stretches of the B970 Culreach, B970 sub-station-Loch Garten and B970 Loch Garten junction-Mains of Garten routes.
The A938 Balnacruie-Tullochgribban road the A938 Foregin-Baddengorm road, and the Station Road junction in Newtonmore, will also be surface dressed.
Overlay works will be done on a section one of the C1137 Glentrium and the U2264 at Balnagowane.