A sinkhole has sparked an emergency closure of a busy Ayrshire road between two villages today.
The sizeable crater has forced drivers and buses on lengthy diversions with no access to Dreghorn or Springside via Kilmarnock Road (B7081).
And the major route is expected to be closed for around nine days as work is carried out to fill in the hole.
Estimated to be around a metre wide and considerably deeper, the hole is just outside Springside before the roundabout that joins Towerlands Road and can access Corsehill Mount Roundabout and the A71.
Diversion signs are in place outside Crosshouse Hospital and throughout the nearby village informing motorists the road is closed.
Ayrshire's busiest bus service — the number 11 — hasn't been serving Springside or Crosshouse since the sinkhole appeared around lunchtime this afternoon but has been able to head to Crosshouse Hospital.
North Ayrshire Council say that it's estimated the road will reopen on Friday, October 1.
A statement on their website under the road closures section reads: "B7081 Kilmarnock Road – September 22, 12noon to October 1 or whenever completed, 11.59pm.
"Emergency closure due to road subsidence. Diversion routes will be in place."
Stagecoach Tweeted at 1.43pm today: "Due to an emergency road closure all service 11 buses are unable to service Crosshouse village and Springside in both directions."
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