Scotland's most infamous road which has become plagued with landslides is to be out of action again - for resurfacing work.
The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful has been the subject of ongoing concern over a 15-year failure to prevent disruption due to failed mitigation measures.
A campaign - backed by 1500 businesses - issued a deadline of 2024 to finally resolve the issues with the important Highlands route which has been disrupted for over seven months since August last year due to landslips and the threat of falling boulders.
Now as teams continue to try and make the hillside more stable, it has been confirmed that the road will again be out of action.
There will be four nights of surfacing work across two sections of the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful starting from Sunday night.
Transport Scotland's appointed maintenance firm Bear Scotland says the project will address a total length of 300 metres of the route, ensuring the road surface is strengthened and improved for road users. The work is programmed to take place from June 20 for four nights, 7pm to 7am each night.
To allow the surfacing work to take place safely, the single track Old Military Road will be in use each night, with all motorists directed to use it from 7pm to 7am.
The barrier along the A83. Source: Bear Scotland
Traffic will be convoyed single-file on the Old Military Road to maintain a route through Glen Croe each night while the surfacing work takes place on the A83.
The A83 will remain open under traffic light control during the daytime for all road users.
Bear Scotland that the ongoing programme of mitigation measures at the Rest and Be Thankful, includes the construction of another debris catch-pit adjacent to the A83.
It comes after it emerged in April that there has been some £4m "wasted" over five years of failed temporary fixes to the road.
According to official figures over £2.9m was spent on mitigation measures on the notorious stretch of road between April, 2016 and July, 2020.
And a further £1m has since been spent on a on 175-metre long, 6.6 metre high landslip barrier to stop debris from a potential landslip.
Eddie Ross, Bear Scotland’s north west representative said: “From Sunday night we’re carrying out a four-night programme of surfacing work on the A83 at the Rest which will strengthen some sections of the carriageway, improving it for all road users.
“As we’ll be working in the centre of the road we need to close the A83 overnight for safety, however we’re minimising disruption as much as possible by directing all road users to use the Old Military Road overnight so they can still pass through the glen safely.
“Our teams will do everything they can to ensure the overnight surfacing work is completed as quickly and safely as possible so we limit any disruption caused by this essential work.
“Teams are making good progress with the ongoing mitigation work at the Rest and we continue to monitor both the hillside and the weather conditions on a daily basis to ensure the route remains safe for road users.
Escorting vehicles on the OMR
“We thank the local community and all road users for their continued patience while we continue with our work at the Rest.”
A new A83 route which could include a tunnel close to the A83 has been identified as the Scottish Government's favoured permanent solution to the landslip problems.
Transport Scotland says its preferred route, via Glen Croe, is "more cost-effective and quicker to deliver, having significantly less environmental constraints".
It was among 11 options put forward last year for a long-term solution to years of disruption for road traffic between central Scotland and Argyll.
But that choice has now led to five new options on the table for the new Glen Croe route, some of which include tunnels up to 1.8 miles long.
After a landslide in January, 2020 (above), the transport secretary Michael Matheson effectively dismissed calls for the permanent rerouting solution and instead decided to spend £1.9m on another attempt to catch any landslip fall, a big pit at Glen Croe.
But that did not stop the road being brought to a standstill in August, last year, when 6000 tonnes of debris fell amid heavy rain.
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