‘Permanent solutions’ for landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful could be a new road, a tunnel or a fixed link to the Cowal Peninsula, the Scottish Parliament has heard.
Another £1.9m for ‘catch pits’ beside the A83 was announced yesterday – but this was dismissed as ‘a sticking plaster approach by opposition politicians.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson appeared before the public petitions committee in Holyrood yesterday.
He was questioned about progress following a petition submitted by Argyll and Bute councillor Douglas Philand in 2014 urging the Scottish Government to find a ‘permanent solution’ to the landslides which have frequently closed the trunk road, most recently in January this year.
The minister said that as well as the new funding, catch pits and other measures along the A83 helped to keep the road open for 48 days when it would otherwise have been blocked.
“The A83 plays a crucial role for communities and businesses in Argyll,” he added.
“That’s why we’ve invested £79.2m in its maintenance since 2007, including £13.3m in landslip mitigation measures and improvements to the Old Military Road diversion route.
“We have already seen the effectiveness of the catch pit programme and want to build on the existing measures, so work will begin on an additional catch pit at phase one of the hillside.
“In the longer term, Argyll and Bute is being prioritised in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, meaning recommendations for the region can be among the first reported.”
But MSP Maurice Corry said moving the road to the other side of Glen Croe had previously been suggested by Argyll and Bute Council, but ruled out by the Scottish Government.
He said the single track Old Military Road, upgraded so it can be used as a fall-back option, was insufficient.
“We are not getting anywhere at all, we’re looking at a sticking plaster approach to this road,” he added.
“Are we ever going to solve this?”
Later in the session he asked head of strategic transport planning Fiona Brown about options such as a new road up the middle of Glen Croe, or a’ tunnel through the shoulder’.
And Jackie Baillie said local people favoured a different route bring established, asking: “Are you quite open to developing a completely new trunk road?”
Mr Matheson said STPR2 – a major review of strategic transport – would not rule out alternative routes because of the mitigation work that had already been carried out.
He briefly mentioned the possibility of fixed links to the Cowal Peninsula – as revealed here in 2016 – but said the current route was critical because anything for that scale would take between eight and 12 years to complete.
Forestry work was scheduled after land had been bought for that purpose, with deer fences due to be built this summer, but the benefits of the trees would not be seen for at least ten years.
Argyll and Bute Council has previously called for a tunnel to replace the current road, and after the meeting council leader Aileen Morton repeated calls for a permanent solution.
“The issues with the Rest and Be Thankful have been recognised for over a decade now, a decade in which a sticking plaster approach has been taken by the Scottish Government,” she said.
“This is a vital route for Argyll and Bute, for Scotland, and it’s time for a more substantial commitment to be made.
“The process the Scottish Government is currently going through to review potential transport projects across the country is a long, drawn-out one.
“This was first suggested as a way forward for the Rest and Be Thankful in October 2018. We have no more information now than we did then and the final STPR report isn’t due to be available until spring 2021.
“Considering the mitigation measures failed yet again Argyll and Bute Council is still asking for a permanent solution to be identified, funded and delivered as a matter of urgency – it is likely to require a substantial sum of money to do this but that must be better than spending more money on works that don’t ultimately solve the problem.”
The full debate can be watched here:
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