Moray Council in spending £22,000 on emergency repairs to the historical Glenernie Bridge.
The works are needed for the upstream parapet wall to be rebuilt after the south end of the bridge on the A940 Forres to Grantown road was hit by a vehicle.
Since the bridge is a listed structure, once it has been repaired it will have to look the same as it did before the damage.
The contract states that as much stone as possible from the south embankment is to be recovered for use in rebuilding the parapet to its original level. Any further stone must be “of similar locally sourced material”.
The project will also have to be pointed with St Astier mortar, which is a traditional limestone used on historical buildings.
Bridge to close
Moray Council stated on the contract that the bridge on the A940 would be closed to all users and traffic management would be required to move drivers through planned diversion routes.
Diversion routes for small vehicles will flow through the B9007, but HGV traffic will follow A939 to Nairn and along the A96.
Currently, it is not known how long the diversion will be in place.
The contract was not made available to other companies to bid for and was awarded directly to Geo-Structural Limited, which is based just outside Airdrie.
A spokesman for Moray Council said: “We’re in the process of arranging emergency repairs and temporary traffic lights will be in operation until these are complete.
“As the bridge is a listed structure, upon completion of the works it will look the same as it did before the accident.”
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