SCOTLAND'S most notorious road is to shut down today as a "safety precaution" due to a forecast of heavy rain.

It has been confirmed that the landslip-prone A83 at the Rest and be Thankful will shut from 7pm due to a forecast of heavy rain - and maintenance bosses have indicated there could be more closures to come.

Campaigners have been long called for a full public inquiry to determine why road is still not fixed.

The move comes amidst continuing criticism over money "wasted" over failed temporary fixes involving catch pits to the A83.

Catch pits are designed to ‘capture’ debris material from a landslip and prevent it from reaching the road.

The Herald revealed last year that transport chiefs had spent some £8.5m on "wasted" temporary sticking plaster fixes to try to prevent landslips on the key road over five years.

Motorists are being being told that official single track diversion route, the Old Military Road, which runs through the centre of Glen Croe will act as a diversion using a convoy system from 7pm on Monday.

Before midday, road engineers brought in a convoy system on the A83 alongside the existing temporary traffic lights as a safety precaution.

Bear Scotland, the road maintenance firm contracted by the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency said a meeting is due to take place on Tuesday morning to determine if it is safe to reopen the A83.

And it warned that given the current forecast for more heavy rain later in the week, further use of diversions on to the Old Military Road may be required over the course of the coming week as well as convoy operations on the A83.

Bear Scotland said that construction work continues on strengthening the landslide mitigation measures in the area.

Eddie Ross, Bear Scotland’s north west representative said: “We’re putting road user safety first and diverting all traffic to use the Old Military Road from 7pm as a safety precaution due to tonight’s weather forecast of heavy rain showers.

“A band of heavy rain is expected to impact the area from this afternoon, becoming heavy by mid-afternoon and continuing through the rest of the day and overnight into Tuesday morning.

“We have teams closely monitoring conditions in the area as well as the hillside above the A83, and we’ll assess the situation tomorrow morning with a view to re-opening the trunk road as quickly as possible if conditions permit and it is safe to do so.

“As ever, we thank all road users and the local community for It comes as campaigners continue to appeal for a permanent solution for the crucial Highlands artery.

Argyll and Bute Council want a new replacement route within the life of the current Scottish Parliament.

In August, the Scottish Government announced a £25 million investment for design and development work for the route through Glen Croe. The council welcomed the funding announcement and is now seeking a commitment that work will start imminently.

Robin Currie, leader of Argyll and Bute Council, said: "We need to see a significant leap forward towards a permanent solution our communities desperately need; where ground is broken and works progressed for both the interim and permanent solution at the Rest and Be Thankful."

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The A83 has been operating under a convoy system after a series of landslips that have put the important Highlands artery out of action for weeks at a time.

The final award was given by the Scottish Government transport agency to a joint venture featuring Quebec-based consultants WSP and engineering and project management consultants Atkins, which is a subsidiary of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin while a decision over a preferred solution is not due till next Spring.

The contract was finalised, a year and three months after the Scottish Government's transport agency set a deadline for the management services to support the delivery of a new length of trunk road at the Rest and be Thankful.

Two years ago officials said that it may take ten years for a permanent solution to stop landslides on the iconic Scots road.

Ministers have been previously accused of wasting over £80m in failed solution solutions to landslides on the road.

Up to 2020, some £15m had been invested in catch pits and other solutions along the A83 as part of a £79.2m spent on vital maintenance and resilience on the road since 2007.

Moves over installing a series of catch-pits aimed at preventing road closures came after a major landslip around 650 feet above the carriageway shut the road in August, 2020.

Engineers said thousands of tonnes of debris including car-sized boulders slid onto the road after 100mm of rain hit the Argyll hills.

One of the landslip mitigation catch-pits, built to prevent landslip material reaching the road, caught around 2,000 tonnes - but it did not stop thousands more tonnes hitting the road.

The slip ushered in a series of road closures for the important Highlands route which by January, 2021 had meant it was open for barely three weeks in the space of five months.

Between January, 2020 and February, 2021 the road had been closed due to landslides for 130 days.

Transport minister Graeme Dey said last year that improving the resilience of the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful "is one of our top priorities" and that they were continuing to work on a permanent long term solution to the issue.

Construction of a catch-pit on the road was completed last August having taken over twice as long to install as promised.

In February, last year, the A83 and the single track route that is used as a diversion under convoy, the Old Military Road was shut after hundreds of tons of debris fell in another landslip.

That is despite £1m being spent on 175-metre long, 6.6 metre high barrier having been built next to the OMR to stop debris from a potential landslip.

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