The Scottish Government has been urged to ensure tree-felling work in the north-west Highlands does not trigger landslides which lead to road closures.
Labour MSP Dave Stewart raised the issue with Transport Minister Keith Brown yesterday after an incident on the A82 Inverness-Glasgow road at Glenrigh, about a mile north of Corran.
The situation led to the road being closed for more than 30 hours.
Mr Brown said work undertaken by the Forestry Commission in the area was actually designed to stop road closures and insisted the “matter is in hand”.
“What we have seen is a huge amount of rainfall which has taken tree cuttings from a substantial distance away and brought them down,” he added.
“A great deal of work is going on with the Forestry Commission to minimise that risk. This matter is in hand.”
But speaking after the exchange at Holyrood, Mr Stewart, a Highlands and islands MSP, said he was concerned the landslip was caused by what he feared was felling planning.
“It is right that the Scottish Government look into this issue to ensure that rural communities, which have little or no alternative transport or road links, are not cut off because of poor planning,” he added.
Mr Brown updated the parliament on the impact of the weather in the north-west Highlands after being questioned by regional MSPs Mike MacKenzie and Dave Thompson.
The minister said nine inches of rain had fallen there since Friday and the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll remained closed due to a landslip involving 1,800 tonnes of rubble.
But Mr Brown said he was confident that the Old Military Road diversion route would be opened by this evening.
“We are seeing a generally improving situation and this will continue throughout the day,” he added.
“The main issue is the A83 where there has been a large landslip at the Rest and Be Thankful and two smaller events at either side.
“Our teams are working hard to get the Old Military Road diversion route up and running and clear debris from the two less serious incidents at Glen Kinglas and Ardgarten, at either end of the Rest, to allow the alternative route to be used.”
Mr Brown said a great deal of rock and mud displaced from the hillside above the Rest was caught by netting installed as part of landslide mitigation measures.
“The Scottish Government is intent on finding solutions to keep the A83 open and operational and has already invested nearly £8million on the A83 around the Rest,” he added.