The section of road at Loch Quoich blocked due to a massive landslide last month is still deemed very high risk and remains closed to the public.
A temporary All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) access route is now in place for essential users.
The half-mile long landslide above the Loch Quoich dam on the Kinloch Hourn road from Invergarry cut the high voltage transmission lines to Skye and the Western Isles on Monday November 10, causing long power outages.
It’s thought the landslide was triggered when a cave 2,500 ft up the side of the mountain collapsed following some localised tremors.
More than 9,000 tons of soil and rock were thrown down onto the road and Loch Quoich dam slipway, completely destroying the road and forcing SSE’s Quoich power station to stop operations.
SSE Transmission has now reinstated the cables and handed over control of the road to the Highland Council.
The council has been working with SSE, affected residents and land owners and users to create the vital ATV access.
Geotechnical engineers on site, Mott MacDonald say it’s too risky to attempt to clear debris from the road before the huge, loose rocks on the slope, some the size of houses, are stabilised, so a slope stabilisation and road clearance plan is being developed as a matter of urgency.
The road block is manned during daylight hours, with non-essential users asked to avoid the area altogether.
Drones were used by BT to fly cables over the affected area to restore broadband and phone services to Kinloch Hourn after the incident.
The council’s senior engineer Amanda Henderson will be visiting the site today and more updates will be provided after that.
The road is likely to remain closed until the middle of next year.
