An £80,000 payment will be made from Moray Council reserves to pay for repairs to a bridge near Elgin.
Pittendreich bridge on the B9010 road to Dallas was hit by a lorry earlier this month, causing significant damage to a parapet.
Although reopened to vehicles with traffic lights in place, safety barriers have narrowed the carriageway making another collision more likely.
Further damage could close the bridge altogether, resulting in a 50 mile round trip between Dallas and Elgin via Forres.
£80k from Moray Council reserves
At a meeting on May 24, councillors agreed that the money should be taken from reserves to repair Pittendreich bridge.
Member for Heldon and Laich John Cowe said: “I would hope that the insurance company for this covers the cost and that is put back into reserves.”
While there are no guarantees, consultancy manager Debbie Halliday gave assurances that the lorry owner had contacted the council about the incident.
And she was “reasonably confident” the funds would be recovered.
Fellow Heldon and Laich councillor Bridget Mustard highlighted that two bridges in the area were already closed showing the fragility of the road network.
Viewmill bridge on the C26E road to Mosstowie will be shut until October following a recent crash.
And Cloddach bridge, which is two miles south of Pittendreich, remains closed.
It was shut last year because of safety concerns.
Since than it has secured £1.5 million from the UK Government towards reopening it.
During the meeting councillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde Marc Macrae asked if there was any progress with the council receiving that money.
Deputy chief executive for economy, environment and finance Rhona Gunn said there had been discussions, but the details could not be shared during public session.
There are also other costs involved at Pittendreich bridge.
An annual bill for the traffic lights would be £23,000.
And if the bridge were to close it would hike up the cost of school transport by £200 a day.
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