Essential repairs to potholed roads are being delayed by rising costs and availability of materials, Dumfries and Galloway Council has admitted.
The local authority has been under increasing pressure recently to sort out crumbling road surfaces – particularly in towns and villages.
And concerns grew further last week when the News told how Gatehouse pensioner Ken McConnell fell when his wheeled walking aid caught in a deep hole.
The 89-year-old needed treatment from paramedics for a head wound in the back of an ambulance called to the scene.
Mr McConnell’s accident prompted Gatehouse provost Helen Keating to demand urgent action from the roads department.
But in its response this week, the council could give no clear date when Victoria Street and others across the region in a similar state would be properly repaired.
A spokesperson told the News: “Roads maintenance works on Victoria Street, Gatehouse of Fleet form part of the council’s capital programme for the financial year 2022/23.
“Staff are working on the procurement of works packages to progress with this.
“Current market conditions, impacting on roads surfacing materials availability and prices, are affecting the timescales for works delivery.
“The council is working with suppliers to progress the programme of works as quickly and as economically as possible.”
Mrs Keating, who is also Gatehouse Community Council’s communications secretary, previously described Victoria Street as “absolutely disgraceful” and “like a slalom” for drivers.
She said: “I appreciate the council’s difficulties but I just hope for everybody’s safety that they get on and do it.
“The whole thing needs doing properly – and it shouldn’t be just a filling in of the potholes.
The 100-yard-long road, which connects with High Street, is pitted with craters up to six inches deep from one end to the other.
