A mobile crane breakdown caused traffic chaos in Fort Williams as thousands of people arrived in town for two key sporting events.
The vehicle came to a halt at the Inverlochy junction just as the Scottish Six Days Trial motorcycle extravaganza got underway.
Football fans were also delayed ahead of the Fort William game at Claggan Park on Saturday.
Traffic was brought to a standstill right through the town and along its dual carriageway with both north and southbound traffic affected.
There have been recent calls for the distributor road, abandoned in the 1960 and ’70s, to be built to link the dual carriageway with the A830 across the river to bypass the area and ease congestion.
Stewart Maclean of the A82 Partnership, which campaigns for local trunk route improvements, said: “It demonstrates the vulnerability of the north access into Fort William and demonstrates the requirement for a major look at the bypass roads.
“I was caught up in it to the extent that, as a director of the local football club, it caused a fair bit of chaos. It happened at about 2pm and the football had a 3pm start.
“It was a classic case of congestion arising at a peak time in Fort William when there was so much sporting activity including the Scottish Six-Day motorcycling trial.”
Mr Maclean added that he felt the campaign was making “slow progress” in its bid for upgrades on the trunk A82 route.
Scottish Transport Minister Derek Mackay will be driven by lorry from Crianlarich to Tarbert later this month to experience the challenges faced by haulage firms on the narrow, winding route.