New route planned for landslip-prone A83
● Bridges and tunnels could feature among 11 options for road
The A83 through the Rest and B e Thankful pass is to be re - r o u t e d i n a b i d t o p r e ve n t repeated landslip closures.
Eleven options to provide a “long-term solution” include new sections of the road within Glen Croe in Argyll.
Details will not be published for several weeks but could include tunnels and bridges.
T h e o p t i o n s m i g h t a l s o include upgrading the current landslip diversion route – the Old Military Road – which runs parallel to the A83, further down the glen.
T h e 1 1 “c o r r i d o r s ” c o u l d include re-routing all or part o f t h e A 8 3 , t h e m a i n l i n k bet ween Glasgow, southern Argyll and Kintyre.
The project would be on a completely different scale to mitigation measures such as debris “catch pits” built after previous landslips.
The plans have been accelerated after one of the biggest landslips for years blocked the A83 on 4 August.
Repairs are continuing after some 6,000 tonnes of debris engulfed the road.
Drivers are exp ected to b e diverted via the Old Militar y Road for another week.
The Scottish Government’s Transp or t S cotland agency said the options “covered a variety of potential approach
es to improving the resilience of the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, including re-routing the road and structures within Glen Croe”.
It said the options would be published in a few weeks’ time with a choice being made in the spring.
Transport secretary Michael Matheson said: “I understand the frustration and disrup - tion landslips at the A83 Rest a n d B e T h a n k f u l b r i n g f o r local communities and drivers. While our previous investment in catch pits has helped keep the road open for an estimated 48 days when it would otherwise have closed, I realise p eople are lo oking for a long-term solution to dealing with landslips.
“I have instructed officials at Transport Scotland to accelerate our work to consider alternative infrastructure options for the A83.
More than £13.6m has been spent on mitigation measures.
It has included seven catch pits with a total capacit y of almost 28,000 tonnes.
Debris netting and drainage improvements have also been made.
Land has b een b ought for tree planting next autumn to help stabilise the hillside.
Argyll and Bute Council leader Aileen Morton said: “Whilst we are relieved there is now a r e c o g n i s e d c a s e f o r i nve s tment and a commitment to move away from temporar y mitigation measures, we still need construction timescales and a date for the new route to open.”