Landslide road due to reopen
Specialist contractors have been on site since Thursday and once the boulder has been made safe the road will be reopened
Council roads chiefs were hoping to have the main road south of Whiting Bay reopen today (Saturday) after a landslide last weekend.
The landslide was caused by the collapse of a rock face at Largybeg, known locally as The Gherry, which partially spilled on to the road smashing trees on the way. However, the majority of the boulder fall was halted by the substantial concrete wall which was built some years ago for just such protection.
However, concern over a dangerously hanging boulder meant the road between Whiting Bay and Dippin Head has been shut all week leading to a lengthy diversion for drivers and disrupting school bus routes and deliveries to the south end.
Roads chiefs immediately applied for a 21-day temporary road closure order leading to fears, sparked by social media, that the road could remain closed over Christmas and New Year.
However, North Ayrshire Council officials say the order was simply a statutory notice which was required to be in place following an emergency road closure.
A council roads official said: ‘On visiting the site it was evident that material was still falling from the rock face and there was a particular concern for a large boulder at the top of the rock face that was showing signs of movement. The boulder is of significant size and should this come down it would land on the road. The decision was taken to close the road immediately in the interests of public safety.’
Specialist contractors have been on site since Thursday and once the boulder has been made safe the road will be reopened.
As the official explained: ‘The works required to scale the rock face and remove the boulder are of a specialist nature and a con- tractor experienced in this type of work has been engaged to attend and remove the boulder. They will contain the rock with rock netting and tension cables and once secured will break the rock into manageable pieces in-situ. It is therefore hoped to have the road reopened on Saturday.’
Drivers had been warned not to attempt to access this route under any circumstances until it has been reopened.