The reopening of a Highland road closed for two months after a landslide has been delayed.

High winds and snowfall has slowed progress of work to make the unstable rockface at the A890 Stromeferry bypass safe.

The 40-strong staff of Trac Engineering Ltd were forced to leave the site at the weekend because of the bad weather.

The work needed to secure the rockface 100 yards west of the avalanche shelter is "much greater" than first anticipated, the contractor has said.

The road was due to reopen for daytime traffic on Monday, February 27, with a full reopening scheduled for March 17.

The unpredictable nature of the work, and the weather, means no new date has been put forward for the road to be partially reopened to traffic.

Highland Council has been running passenger and car ferry services between Lochcarron and Stromeferry. The Glenelg car ferry will be available until March 17 and the council is trying to source another ferry for after that date.

The local authority is also in discussion with Network Rail about the possibility of diverting traffic onto the railway line.

Councillor John Laing, chairman of the transport environment and community services committee, said: "The adverse weather and the unstable nature of the rockface are combining to make this a very difficult challenge indeed.

"I know people want a target date for re-opening but given our recent experiences it would be unwise to do so and raise expectations.

"Residents should be assured that we are doing everything we can to get the road back open, even on a partial basis, and we will keep everyone as closely advised of progress as possible."

Angus MacGregor, operations director of TRAC Engineering, said: "The weather delays to rock-scaling and drilling along with some more geological challenges have made it impossible to achieve the partial opening target date of Monday 27 February."

IN DETAIL

• Landslip-hit road set to reopen within weeks
• Landslide-hit road could cost £70m to repair