High alert as A83 at Rest and be Thankful shuts for third time

When the crucial Highland's artery is shut, motorists are sent onto a single track route, the Old Military Road (OMR), which runs through the centre of Glen Croe and acts as a diversion using a convoy system.

Scottish Government-appointed maintenance firm Bear Scotland has said that decisions taken were the result of continuing forecasts of rain and "high hillside saturation levels".

They said the concerns have come with up to 60mm of rain expected on Monday after what they said was a "significant increase" in hillside saturation levels on Sunday, they say a further inspection is expected of the hillside is expected on Tuesday when improved weather is expected.

READ MORE: A83 at the Rest and be Thankful: The 18 year wait for a solution

The key route was put out of action in mid-January over similar safety concerns over heavy rain and there was further disruption just before Christmas.

Campaigners have said they were warned by Transport Scotland officials that there was 100,000 tonnes of unstable material on the hillside above the A83 at the Rest and be Thankful just before the latest landslides which they say shows more needed to be done to ensure the safety of those using the road.

The A83 at the Rest has been operating under a traffic lights system after a series of landslips over a number of years that have put the important route out of action for weeks at a time. The lights system ended more recently.

When there are further concerns road managers set up a convoy system on the A83 stretch.

Only when there are the most serious concerns do road managers divert to the OMR, which was originally built by General George Wade in response to the Jacobite uprisings in the 18th Century.

A Bear Scotland spokesman said: "Our team continues to monitor site conditions closely during the current period of high alert."

The latest run of stoppages has come after the road was shut down after some 12,000 tonnes of debris fell on it in early October.

Of the seven landslips that hit the A83,  one hit the Rest.

The rest occurred between two and four miles north and west of where a planned £470m debris shelter is due to be built on the notorious Rest stretch of road as a key long-term measure to protect the road.

A mother and daughter who had a lucky escape on the road say they were hit by two landslides, the last of which was close to the A83 junction with the A815 - around four miles from the end of the proposed landslip shelter.

Artists' impression of the debris shelter.

Kiera Smith, 19, and mum Fiona, 44 from Campbeltown were travelling on the road on Saturday morning when their Vauxhall Zafira was hit.

BEAR Scotland had shut the road in advance fearing further landslides.

But the measure did not stop road users from having their journeys curtailed on the route, with motorists having to go on long detours as landslides shifted away from where the shelter is due to be built.

Fears over the road at the Rest hit fresh heights on August 4, 2020, when some 6,000 tonnes of debris cascaded onto the A83 at the Rest and be Thankful.

By the end of August, the road had been closed for the same length of time as over the five years between January 2007 and October, 2012 which led to an investigation into how to handle the hillside stability.

In 2020 alone it was shut for over 200 days.

A campaign backed by 1500 businesses has been pushing for a permanent fix for the landslip issues to be delivered by this year.

They won't get their wishes.

There has been anger over ministers "wasting" up to £130m over more than a decade on failed solutions to the landslide issue.

Concerns have been raised about the millions spent on temporary solutions to the landslip problem which were first highlighted in the Scottish Road Network Landslides Study part authored by the then Scottish Executive - 19 years ago.

The A83 is an almost 100-mile trunk road connecting the Mull of Kintyre and southern Argyll to the shores of Loch Lomond.

About 1.3 million vehicles travel the route every year and it acts as an important transport link for mainland Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides.

Last year Transport Scotland unveiled plans for its preferred option of building a £470M debris flow shelter to protect the A83's Rest and Be Thankful section.

The scheme comprises a mile-long, open-sided tunnel, costed at between £405M and £470M. Its selection follows design and assessment work on five options through the Glen Croe valley.

A debris flow shelter is akin to a tunnel with one open side and is a recognised means of protecting transport infrastructure and its users from falling rock and debris in areas susceptible to debris flows or landslides. Meanwhile improvements to the OMR are expected to be made while a long-term solution is progressed.