Work to repair a landslip near Keith has been delayed until next year due to budget constraints.
Moray Council has confirmed work on the A95 Keith to Cornhill road at Meikle Cantly, near Keith, will not commence this year as the project has been deemed “unfeasible”.
Temporary traffic lights were first put in place in early December 2019 after erosion from the River Isla undermined the slope supporting the road, causing part of the land to plunge down.
A contract for the project was put out to tender earlier this year, however, only one bid for the work has been received at £693,000 – a significantly higher cost than expected originally.
Road maintenance manager Mark Atherton said the project needed to be pushed until next year due to “obstacles out-with control”.
He said: “We’re aware of massive disruption in the construction industry just now owing to a number of worldwide market factors.
“Suppliers have said they didn’t tender for this particular contract due to having large volumes of other work on and no capacity to deliver the project in the preferred timescale.
“The costs associated with this project have also come back as a lot higher than anticipated, which has rendered the job unfeasible this year.
“We appreciate the deep frustration when works like this go on longer than projected, we feel it too, and we’re grateful to road users in the area for their patience as we face obstacles out-with our control.”