A long-awaited new bridge in the heart of a Highland village is on course to take its first traffic next month.
The £3.3million crossing in Muir of Ord will carry Great North Road over the Inverness to Dingwall railway line.
It replaces the old traffic light controlled railway bridge, which just has one lane because of fears about its stability.
Work on the new bridge began late in 2015 and Highland Council say they are on course to have the project fully completed by May.
Vehicles should begin to cross the bridge next month under traffic management.
The council confirmed that all 22 prefabricated concrete parapets have now been installed.
Recent surfacing works to the west of the new bridge has allowed traffic to be switched away from the existing road on to a newly laid temporary surface.
The western wing-walls have been poured and a start has been made to pouring the copes of the eastern retaining wall which will support the vehicle safety barrier.
These works have been carried out alongside utility works.
Other works currently under way include drainage, up-filling, and construction of the new North West Road-Corrie Road junction.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “It is expected that vehicles will be able to use the new bridge under traffic management in February with demolition of the existing bridge expected in March and all works completed by the end of May.
“The Highland Council would like to take this opportunity to thank the community and all road users using the route for their co-operation during the works.
“The temporary traffic management arrangements are monitored on a daily basis, with manual control of the lights when particularly busy periods occur.
“The temporary traffic lights will be moved away from the junction, towards the bridge, as soon as site conditions permit.
“The council have a supervision team on site and they will continue to review the overall arrangements regularly.”
The new bridge is being constructed by Glasgow-based contractor George Leslie Ltd on behalf of the council.
The new crossing has previously been hailed as “vital” for the long-term future of Muir of Ord.
