A four-year wait to reopen a route near a village is approaching the end of the road.
The C61a Waterbeck to Dunnabie Road in Annandale and Eskdale has been closed since March 2019 after becoming deteriorated by Scottish Power cabling works in 2014.
Emergency and then “temporary” road closures were installed but legal wrangling between the local authority and ScottishPower continually pushed back repair work.
Now the council has confirmed repairs will take place soon.
A spokesperson said: “The works on the C61a are planned to commence in the first quarter of this financial year.
“Officers are finalising contract details to allow the procurement of a contractor to take place.”
Resident Peggy Race, who lives on the road within the closure, said: “On Friday I had to pay £650 getting my car repaired because a shock absorber broke and I need two new front tyres all because of this road.
“I have to drive on this road, I have no choice.
“I’ve had four flats this year but I have to drive.
“There’s no public transportation.
“The state of the road has destroyed our cars. I won’t hold my breath waiting on repairs.”
The serious defects on the small rural route are down to underground cabling works to accommodate the Ewe Hill windfarm more than eight years ago.
Cable was laid the full length of the road as part of works by ScottishPower linking the windfarm to a substation south of Middlebie in early 2014.
However, soon after the works were completed deterioration of the track was recorded and started the catalogue of problems.
Middlebie and Waterbeck community councillor Anne Laird said: “We all jokingly thought on the first anniversary that it would be fixed pretty soon. And I understand that Covid-19 got in the way and things weren’t happening but we’ve been out of lockdown for quite a while.
“Windfarms are great because they bring community benefits but we’re living with the legacy of a badly reinstated road that has a long-term consequence for all residents.”
She added: “The last reported thing we heard was the council came to some legal agreement with ScottishPower because it was their subcontractors that had carried out the work and they would pay for the repairs in the road.
“That’s how the council left it but we don’t know when that’s scheduled.
“They’re not keeping the local community in the loop.
“We’ve been kept in the dark about it really.”
ScottishPower carried out “remedial works” in 2015 after “extensive discussions” with the council’s roads department.
And the energy giant did further repairs but, by mid 2017, the matter remained unresolved and the parties agreed that “there was still settlement appearing along the length of the track”.
By March 2019 the council had to enforce an emergency road closure because it became too risky for vehicles to use it safely.
A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks, part of ScottishPower, said: “We have worked with the local council to ensure the repair works will address all identified defects and leave the road in a better condition for local people and drivers.
