Work is set to start next week on a road closed since last November due to a landslip.
The landslip caused severe damage to the C5101 near Dent Head Viaduct and the road has been closed as it was at risk of collapse.
The landslip resulted in the carriageway being undermined with a 1.9 metre drop which falls steeply to the River Dee.
Westmorland & Furness Council said: “The closure and necessary diversions have caused hardship for many members of the community.
“While the council’s community development team provided support to people in the area affected by the closure, highways officers worked with specialist contractor WSP to prioritise designing and delivering a safe, long-term solution as quickly as possible on the geographically and topologically complex site.”
It said the slope where the landslip occurred is around 16m in height and added that significant ground investigations and ecological surveys had to be undertaken to understand the conditions on site and to design a solution that was safe for the public to use.
Preparation work is due to begin on Monday and it is hoped the work will take around seven weeks, weather permitting.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet member for highways and ICT, said: “I am delighted that work is so close to starting to fix this road. We have been talking and working with the community since the closure and fully understand the impact and frustrations the diversions have caused.
“This is a complex site and officers and specialist contractor WSP really have pulled out the stops to investigate, analyse and design the solution far quicker than an issue as challenging as this would normally take.
“We are also pleased to be in a position to start preparing for work from Monday and reconnecting this vital route in a matter of weeks, weather permitting.”
The project will involve realigning the existing carriageway by moving the road away from the crest of the landslip.
It will see around 12,000 tonnes of material being moved off site.
New drainage will be installed and where it is not possible to achieve a suitable slope gradient, retaining structures will be needed, the council said.
Surfacing contractor Heidelberg and groundworks contractor Metcalfes have worked closely with the council on the project.
