Residents of a picturesque hamlet cut off by devastating floods two years ago are at last to see life return to normal.
The road which runs through Dura Den in Fife was destroyed by a deluge of water which also ripped apart a house and flooded several other homes.
Since then traffic has been unable to pass through the community on the C45 between Cupar and Pitscottie.
Fife Council has announced that the long-awaited reconstruction of the road is to begin in early December and should be finished by the spring.
Louise Hughes, whose house was among the worst affected, is anxious to see the £800,000 project complete.
She and her family have undertaken major repairs to their house and land and that of her mother next door and said: “Our lives have been virtually on hold for these past two years as we’ve worked non-stop.”
Louise’s garden was buried under rubble from the collapsed road and gable of the adjacent house.
Her 23-year-old son Storm was home when the flash flood struck and had to flee the house in the early hours of October 15 2012.
She said: “The completion of the work will mean we can finally start to get our land back to some sort of order as it has looked like a building site since the flood.
“The detour to get to Pitscottie or Cupar by car is along a very narrow, almost single track road which is pretty dangerous and itself liable to flooding.
“There are some mixed feelings amongst a few residents about the road being opened to traffic again as walkers and cyclists have enjoyed an almost car-free run along the Den for over two years now, however we simply can’t wait for it to be back in operation.”
However, the mother-of-four fears that without further prevention measures around the weir which the Ceres Burn burst over there is a chance of further flooding.
She said: “Immediately after the flood the council organised for the top metre of the weir to be removed, however, in theory it could still block and the flood plain around it now has no wall to hold water back.
“I’ve lived in Dura Den for almost 36 years with never a drop of river water in the house so I’m reasonably confident it won’t happen again but would still like to know how that area of the Den is to be left.”
Kemback, Pitscottie and Blebo Community Council chairman Jack Lord said the majority of residents will be very pleased to see the road reopen.
He said: “We will get back to some stability. On the Q10 through Kemback Bridge traffic has increased considerably and there have been several accidents.”
Fife Council has appointed George Leslie Ltd for the job.
Pat Callaghan, executive spokesman for environment and transportation, said: “This has been a complex and challenging project and has been a long time in the planning.”
It is expected site preparation and temporary stabilisation works will be complete by Christmas. In the new year, work will begin on the construction of 80 metres of retaining walls to support the road and protect from further landslips.
Work on the damaged Coach House is to be conducted simultaneously under the management of the property insurer.
The council said there were no plans for further work at the weir but this would be considered in a future flood study for the area.
A spokeswoman said fallen trees trapped in the bridge over the weir had caused the flood.
The bridge was removed and part of the weir demolished to reduce the water level.