A hugely-popular tourist driving route faces disruption while a stretch is used to transport nuclear waste.
With the UK terror threat remaining “severe,” police have been granted the power to close a nine-mile stretch of the lucrative North Coast 500 route for public safety reasons.
The move is to allow shipments to be transported along the A836 from the Dounreay atomic plant in Caithness to the port of Scrabster – then on to Sella-field in Cumbria.
The sporadic A836 closures will be for one hour at a time between the hours of 8am and 6pm, from a week today until June 22 next year.
Each time the temporary prohibition order is used motorists will be diverted on to an unclassified alternative route taking them via Shebster and Westfield, to the south.
The interruption will take trippers away from the coastal route and close to the giant Baillie Windfarm and a string of huge pylons.
David Richardson, regional spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses which represents many tourism-related operations in the far north, said the impact needed to be carefully considered.
And he questioned whether road was the best method of transporting the convoys, whether they should happen during the summer season and why they had to happen during the day.
He said: “Closing the road might seem simple but if it leads to congestion or delays, that can damage the enjoyment of visitors especially if they’ve got a ferry to catch, for example.
“Tourism is on the up. Nevertheless, the future is uncertain and businesses know they can’t be taken for granted.”
No-one was available for comment yesterday at either the NC500 offices or at VisitScotland.
Local councillors said the diversions should not undermine the appeal of the lucrative tourist draw.
Willie Mackay said: “The detour is much closer to the windfarm but it’s a good, open road and scenic – still offering beautiful views.” His council colleague Matthew Reiss, a former area police commander, said: “The diversion route is safe and adds very little extra mileage. I don’t anticipate any significant problems.”
Until now such loads from Dounreay, which is being decommissioned, have not required such closures on the NC500.
But in a period of unprecedented security, a decision was taken by the security services to close the road as deemed necessary.
A spokesman for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority said: “Our priority at all times is to comply with regulations governing the safety and security of nuclear materials in storage and in transit.”