Highland Council has confirmed that the road to Kinloch Hourn will remain closed followed a huge landslide in November.
The road, which is a key access route for several popular mountains in the Knoydart area, is not likely to re-open until mid-2019, Highland Council yesterday confirmed.
On Monday 10 November a ‘very significant’ 1km-long landslip occurred near the Loch Quoich Dam, severing HV transmission lines to Skye and the Western Isles and deposited many tons of debris onto the road and dam spillway, forcing power station operations to cease.
Since the incident, Highland Council say they have been working with SSE Transmission Limited, SSE Generation Limited, the affected residents and land users. The immediate priority for the Council was to make provision for access for those affected by the road closure.
Mott MacDonald geotechnical engineers have categorised the area of the slip as ‘very high risk’, which prevents any attempt to clear debris from the road under the material on the slope above. This material must be stabilised first, and although a short section of by-pass road suitable for ATVs has been set up for local use there is no general public access.
The route is likely to remain closed until mid-2019.
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