Tunnel and bridge plan to beat landslips

A SERIES of bridges and tunnels are being considered as options to replace a landslip-prone road.

Transport Scotland published details of the 11 ‘corridor options’ yesterday as the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll reopened under traffic light control after being blocked by two major landslides within six weeks.

Building new fixed-link crossings at Loch Long, Gare Loch and the Firth of Clyde are among the options, which also include building a new road in the glen behind the current route.

Others include crossings from near West Kilbride, Ayrshire, to Bute via Little Cumbrae, and further crossings either over the Firth of Clyde from Rothesay to Toward, or from Rhubodach to Colintraive.

The public are being asked to give their views on the various routes in a consultation which ends on October 30.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: ‘We want to ensure that communities have the opportunity to comment on the proposals for the scheme at every stage in the process.

‘From today we are launching a new website for the design work and the 11 corridor options under consideration can be viewed there. Please visit the site and give us your input by October 30.’

The preferred route corridor is expected to be chosen by spring 2021. One lane of the road opened at around 7.35am yesterday after repairs required when heavy rain on September 13 brought down around 7,000 tons of debris.

Prior to this closure it had been open for less than a week having been blocked since a major landslide on August 4.