SCOTLAND'S most notorious road is to set to enter a full week of closures prompted by new concerns about landslides as a result of heavy rain.

The A83 at the Rest and be Thankful has been shut down for at least part of the day in most days since last Friday as road engineers raise concerns about the amount of rainfall saturating the nearby hillside.

It was shut for the whole of Wednesday as road engineers raise concerns about the amount of rainfall saturating the nearby hillside.

Now the road is set to be shut from 7pm on Saturday till Monday morning as a safety precaution after Storm Eunice passes because of heavy rain being forceast for Saturday night through to Sunday.

Bear Scotland, the road maintenance firm contracted by the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency says that that the official single track diversion route, the Old Military Road (OMR) which runs through the centre of Glen Croe will act as a the diversion through a convoy system.

And the have warned that the road diversion could result in A83 being shut through till Monday morning.

They say heavy rain and snow melt will increase hillside saturation levels and that daily inspections will continue to inform decision making.

They say road users should anticipate that the OMR diversion will remain in operation from 7pm on Saturday until Monday morning.

The A83 has been operating under the usual convoy system which will remain in place throughout Friday and overnight into Saturday.

Campaigners have been calling 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.

The Herald:

A flashback to a past landslip

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

Moves over 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.

Eddie Ross, Bear Scotland’s north west representative said: “We’ve been assessing the weather forecast over the next few days and have taken the decision along with Transport Scotland to direct all traffic to use the Old Military Road from 7pm on Saturday evening as a safety precaution.

“Sunday’s forecast has indicated heavy rain throughout the day, and given the current high saturation levels experienced on the hillside, we’re continuing to put road user safety first.

“Road users should therefore anticipate the OMR being utilised from 7pm on Saturday evening until Monday morning when a hillside inspection will take place to determine if it is safe to return traffic to the A83.

“Teams are continuing to pay close attention to the weather conditions in the area and are monitoring the hillside for any changes.

“As ever, we thank all road users and the local community for their patience in advance while we continue to manage the situation at the Rest and Be Thankful.”

The Herald:

A helicopter was brought in after a landslip in August, 2020 to make a 100 tonne boulder safe by using water bags to manoeuvre it into a safe location

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.

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 OMR 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.

A campaign - backed by 1500 businesses fought for a permanent solution by 2024 after an over 15-year failure to prevent disruption.

A new A83 route which could include a tunnel close to the A83 has been identified as the Scottish Government's favoured permanent solution - but it is a long-term solution which could take seven to ten years to complete after being approved.

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.

Last month a £1.8m contact was awarded to carry out preliminary ground investigations to help identify a long-term solution for the landslip-prone road.

Raeburn Drilling & Geotechnical Ltd will undertake the work, which is part of efforts to identify a preferred route option.

Investigations are scheduled to begin this month with the work expected to last between eight and ten weeks.

The cost of the works – which will help to inform the design process for the scheme – are said to reflect both the “challenging landscape” presented at the route and the “range and nature” of the options under consideration.