A new temporary bund is to be built in an attempt to safeguard the Old Military Road diversion route at the Rest and Be Thankful.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson made the announcement today, when it was also revealed that a forestry track is being assessed as an alternative route through Glen Croe.
The main A83 truck road through the glen has only been open for six days since the beginning of August, while in recent weeks the single-track Old Military Road has frequently been closed overnight and for four days last week was also shut during daytime.
Mr Matheson made the announcement at a meeting with stakeholders, saying the new barrier should be complete by Christmas.
The bund will be 175m long and 6m high bund, and will be positioned next to the road at the foot of the vulnerable channel formed by landslips in August and September.
The barrier will be formed using a modular system favoured by the military and will be largely backfilled with material from previous landslides.
“I was delighted to have the opportunity today to discuss with local stakeholders and businesses our continuing work in delivering landslide mitigation measures at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and the Old Military Road local diversion,” said Mr Matheson.
“At this meeting, I announced that I have instructed our contractors to commence construction of a new 175 metre debris bund above the Old Military Road, with the aim of completing works before Christmas, weather permitting.
“This will provide greater resilience to the local diversion, helping to ensure continuity of access to the region.”
A design team is also continuing to assess the viability of the forestry track as an alternative route through Glen Croe, with further information expected to be available next week.
The Old Military Road is open today with teams closely reviewing the weather forecast and conditions on the hillside on a daily basis.
Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s north west representative ,said: “The Old Military Road is operating well as a local diversion and after thorough assessments of the hillside we’re keeping the route operational 24 hours a day as long as weather conditions allow.
“Installation of this new bund will give us the opportunity to use the local diversion route with greater confidence once it is complete later this month.
“As ever we’re continuing to put road user safety first. We thank the local community and all road users for their patience and assure them we’re doing everything we can to address the ongoing situation at the Rest.”
Not so very long ago the old military road used to be the only way through Glen Croe. It is not up to standard for modern traffic either in volume or in size and it has a very steep section with hairpin bends at the western end. What would be the insurmountable difficulty in making a real job of improving and realigning this old road to bring it up to standard? It might be a more reliable and cheaper option than the unknown quantity of cutting a new track along the other side of the glen that might prove just as unstable as the existing A83.