Travel delays as Road to the Isles hit by massive landslip
TOURISTS face a weekend of delays on one of Scotland’s most scenic routes after a huge landslide blocked the road and nearby railway line.
More than 100 tons of mud and rock was washed on to the historic A830 ‘Road to the Isles’ when heavy rain caused a hillside to collapse.
The debris – which came down around 7pm on Thursday – severed the only road and rail links between Fort William and Mallaig, in Inverness-shire.
A 60-mile detour via the A861 through Ardnamurchan was set up to provide the only passable route round the obstruction, between the Lochailort and Drumsallie junctions, adding around an hour-and-a-half to journeys.
Engineers from road maintenance firm Bear Scotland worked through the night on the A830, which was eventually reopened yesterday afternoon. But the road is likely to remain under traffic-light control until tomorrow, inevitably leading to delays, as teams continue to clear the remaining debris. In Orkney, high winds caused problems yesterday when gusts of up to 47mph swept away a giant marquee at the County Show in Bignold Park, Kirkwall. No one was hurt. Following a Met Office yellow ‘be aware’ warning of heavy rain for Skye, Mull, the West Highlands and Argyll earlier this week, now hot air from the Sahara is set to see temperatures soar before schools go back next week.
With an area of high pressure expected to have settled over the country by this morning, tourism chiefs predict Scottish beach resorts will enjoy a rush of visitors making the most of the sunshine.
Guild of Travel and Tourism chief executive Nigel Bishop said: ‘The biggest UK beach rush of the year so far is expected, with increased daytrips. Resorts will be very busy.’
Forecasters say widespread sunny spells and highs of up to 80f (27c) will reach many parts of Scotland by Tuesday and Wednesday, thanks to winds from north Africa.
The drier conditions will help the final clean-up of the A830, which was hampered by rain washing further debris on to the carriageway.
A Bear spokesman said: ‘Traffic signals will remain in place over the weekend to allow teams to safely clear the remaining debris from the culverts and ditches next to the route.’
Network Rail say the Fort William to Mallaig service is likely to remain affected over the weekend as its engineers work to clear the track. Replacement buses have been brought in.
A ScotRail spokesman said services on the route were expected to be disrupted until this evening, with trains between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig starting from or terminating at Fort William and replacement buses covering the remainder of the journey.
Apologising for the disruption, the spokesman added: ‘We are grateful to customers for their patience during the disruption.’