SCOTLAND'S most notorious road re-opened on Thursday morning after being out of action due to a heavy rain forecast - but there are warnings there could be more closures this weekend.
The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, one of the nation's iconic stretches of road which has become plagued with landslides was shut overnight because of fears of another slip through rain.
It has been the subject of ongoing concern over a 15-year failure to prevent disruption due to failed mitigation measures.
After being shut from before 8pm on Wednesday, it was reopened shortly after 7.30am this morning following an early morning safety inspection, with all traffic now using the trunk road under traffic light control.
The parallel single track Old Military Road (OMR)which runs through the centre of Glen Croe was used overnight " as a safety precaution" with motorists travelling in a convoy operation.
But Transport Scotland's appointed maintenance firm Bear Scotland said further rain showers are expected overnight and throughout Friday, and teams remain onsite monitoring conditions in the area. It said the A83 will remain in operation but teams are on standby ready to shut the road and implement the OMR diversion route should conditions in the area deteriorate.
A yellow Met Office warning for thunderstorms has been issued across central and southern Scotland from 10am on Friday until 9am on Saturday, which extends to parts of Argyll. Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s north west representative, said: “We reopened the A83 this morning following an early morning assessment of the hillside and water channels at the Rest, along with a review of the weather forecast.
Flashback to a past landslip clear-up. Source: BEAR Scotland
“Safety remains our top priority, and with further showers expected to move in overnight and throughout Friday we will be keeping a close eye on conditions, with teams ready to implement the OMR local diversion route should conditions begin to worsen in the area.
“As ever we thank the local community and all road users for their continued patience while we continue with our work at the Rest.”
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.
In April, it emerged 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.
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.
READ MORE: Rest and Be Thankful: Officials confirm there will be no landslide solution for 10 years
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, 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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