Hell’s Glen road is the only access to ‘forgotten’ village
Residents of Lochgoilhead say they feel like the “forgotten area of Argyll” as the B828 connecting it to the A83 remains closed, writes Rita Campbell.
The closure means all traffic coming in and out of the village is using the alternative torturous B839 Hell's Glen road – adding an extra 12 miles or 20 minutes onto journeys.
Increased volumes of traffic are causing the other single-track road to deteriorate, say villagers.
But the main concern is about delays for emergency services vehicles reaching the area.
The B828 has been fixed by Argyll and Bute Council – but it cannot open the road after contractors for Forestry and Land Scotland spotted two massive boulders on the hill above.
Jeremy Game, who runs a first aid business in Lochgoilhead, said: “All traffic is having to use the B839 Hell's Glen Road, which adds an extra 12 miles or 20 minutes for anyone travelling towards Arrochar to reach the A83.
“This is putting extra pressure on the B839. The whole road is falling apart. It is being used by big lorries, buses and cars. It's not built for all that traffic.
“The problem we have is we are a small village, but a very busy village. Getting in and out is becoming more difficult. A big concern we have is that the emergency services have an extra 20 minutes to get here.
“The other day someone was quite ill and had to be helicoptered out to hospital.”
Dr Peter von Kaehne, GP at Lochgoilhead Medical Centre, is responsible for out-of-hours care at night and weekends.
He said: “The B839 is now positively scary. It has deteriorated fast. I have to drive it often at night/darkness due to being on call for the wider area and I am now really rather afraid of it.”
Dr von Kaehne added: “The traffic running through this road is simply unsuitable for it, as it has at least doubled and involves now plenty of heavy vehicles, which in the past would have chosen the B828.
“Encounters of long convoys or heavy vehicles coming in both directions are increasingly common and find it hard to get past each other due to scarcity of passing places and difficulties with deteriorating edges.”
Speaking about emergency services reaching the village, he said: “I think it adds 15 minutes or so for the Arrochar ambulance (our usual ambulance) in one direction, so delays delivery of a patient to the hospital by 30 minutes and more – without any additional blockages or delays.”
A large section of the B828 was washed away by a landslide during heavy rainfall which caused widespread disruption across Argyll in October. Argyll and Bute Council carried out repairs and planned to reopen the road on December 22.
But this was put on hold at the last minute. Contractors for Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) spotted signs of movement in two 350-tonne boulders on the hill above.
A spokeswoman for the council said: “We have completed the repairs needed on the road and had hoped to reopen it in December.
“However, specialist contractors working on behalf of FLS have advised us that two large boulders on the hillside have become unstable.
“Due to public safety, the road has to remain closed while FLS works to stabilise the hillside. The focus remains on reopening the road as soon as the route is safe for people to use.”
Carol McGinnes, FLS central region manager, said: “It was initially hoped that the boulders and the hillside could be secured and made safe.
“However, following further assessment, it was agreed that the only safe course of action was to break up and remove the boulders.
“This is the only way to be sure that they will not at some stage cause a further landslip and, given the size of these boulders, make sure that they do not present any danger to the public or to the road. We appreciate that this additional period of closure has been frustrating and inconvenient for local residents and other road users but we anticipate that the issue will be resolved within the next two weeks.”
But Mr Game continued:
“Everybody has had enough. The council did a good job getting the road fixed in time for Christmas. But then FLS comes along and says there are boulders up there. It has had three months to get them moved.
“We seem to be the forgotten area of Argyll. We have had all the landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful. Now these people don't seem to want to get us moving.
“The A816 landslide diversion road at Ardfern road was built in three months, but FLS can't move two boulders in all that time.”