Rough road ruins magical Mull of Kintyre trips
TRAVELLERS whose desire is always to be at the Mull of Kintyre must use one of Argyll and Bute’s most poorly maintained roads, claim two councillors.
Argyll First Councillor Donald Kelly and his colleague, John Armour, are determined to get a 700m section of the Castleraggs Road returned to the council’s capital budget after it has been withdrawn in the past two years.
Their complaints are about the first uphill section of the road just after the right turn, past Southend war memori- al, off the B842, signposted Mull of Kintyre.
The surface has two long repairs where tarmac has been put over potholes and has become wrinkled. It is so bumpy that drivers often go into the ditch in efforts to avoid driving on the rough patches.
Mr Kelly said: ‘This is the gateway to the Mull of Kintyre for many tourists. The council has spent thousands on the singletrack road further on so why not maintain this piece of tarmac?
‘If it was not fit for purpose three years ago, then it is certainly not now. The surface is like a patchwork quilt.
‘This area of road has been included in the council’s capital budget for the past two years only to be withdrawn half way through the programme.
‘I am sorry to say that the council is simply not listening to the community and I would urge everyone to sign the petition being organised by Southend Community Council.’
Mr Armour agreed and said: ‘If there is a worse bit of road in South Kintyre, I would like to see it.
‘The remedial work with a bit of tar has done nothing to improve it. Since I became a councillor in the winter of 2014 it has caused discussion at every Southend Community Council meeting.
In an email sent to Mr Kelly by Argyll and Bute’s head of roads and amenity services, Jim Smith, it is stated that the list of schemes in the capital programme has been compiled from survey information with input from a range of sources.
These include police collision data, utility programmes, safety inspections, representation from elected members and stakeholders which enables the best return to be achieved from the available budget.
Mr Smith wrote: ‘Castleraggs did not reach the cut off for inclusion in this year’s capital programme.
‘The road will be monitored through ongoing safety inspections and any defects will be addressed through revenue works.’