A83 Rest and Be Thankful closed again

Strong winds and heavy rain caused problems for t r av e l l e r s at the weekend and more bad weather is forecast this week.

The A83 Rest and Be Thankful re-opened at 8am yesterday after a safety inspection but closed again at 5pm with further rainfall expected.

The weather also forced some ferry services to be delayed or cancelled and the Highland League Cup final between Rothes and Buckie Thistle had to be postponed on Saturday due to Kynoch Park in Keith being waterlogged.

The A83 route is being kept under review following almost a week of heavy downpours in the area where more than five inches of rain has fallen.

The road was closed from 6pm on Saturday due to rain forecast overnight and difficulties in completing monitoring on the hillside for any sudden changes in conditions during darkness.

It re- opened yesterday under traffic light control following a safety inspection.

But with further rain expected across Arg yll last night and into this morning, it was shut again as a safety precaution.

Vehicles were convoyed along the local diversion using the Old Militar y Road ( OMR) which runs parallel to the A83 through Glen Croe.

Eddie Ross, Bear S c o t l a n d ’s north-west representative, said: “We’re putting road user safety first and the route will be kept under careful review with teams continuing to monitor the conditions in the area as well as the hillside above the road.

“Given the level of rainfall experienced over the past week, we have retained the OMR local diversion in a state of readiness.

“We are continuing to install mitigation measures at the A83 and we will endeavour to do all we can to keep disruption to a minimum. As e ver we thank road users and the local community for their patience while we continue this work at the Rest.”

The road has been closed repeatedly in recent weeks, following a significant landslip in August – when huge boulders and thousands of tonnes of debris crashed down the hillside.

Last night Tr a f f i c Scotland warned motorists to use caution crossing the A87 Skye Bridge due to high winds affecting driving conditions.

With no improvement, Caledonian MacBrayne yesterday cancelled ferry services between Fionnphort and Iona and also the link be tween Mallaig and the Small Isles due to a forecast of strong winds gusting up to 47mph.

Poor conditions also led to the MV Hebrides departing Uig about 45 minutes late for its sailing to Lochmaddy, while the company warned some other services were to face disruption or cancellation due to adverse conditions.

Forecasters predict a wet first half of this week.

TESTING: Motorists were diverted along the Old Military Road after the bad weather.