A83 Rest and Be Thankful: Major road reopens fully for 24 hour trial operation following closure due to adverse weather

The temporary round the clock open trial of the A83 Rest and Be Thankful has resumed after it was paused last night due to adverse weather conditions.

The major road through Argyll was re-opened fully this week after it was closed or partially closed when heavy rain caused a landslip of 6,000 tonnes of debris in August last year.

However, an overnight suspension was in place on Thursday night in response to an intense period of heavy rainfall experienced in the area yesterday afternoon.

The Old Military Road was open for all road users at around 5pm as a safety precaution after heavy rain brought in by high winds increased through the afternoon period.

A view down a Scottish highland glen, Glen Croe, from the 'Rest and be Thankful view point', in Argyll, Scotland (Photo: Jozef Durok).

The A83 was reopened for all users at around 7.30 Am on Friday after a safety inspection took place at first light that day.

The 24-hour open trial of the road is expected to run until Monday.

BEAR Scotland has commented that this trial period following a ‘safety-first’ approach will allow them to identify any issues before the A83 can fully re-open on a longer-term basis.

Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative said: “Yesterday afternoon we took the decision to switch all traffic to the Old Military Road as a safety precaution as the weather conditions worsened in the area.

“As the OMR was already on stand-by, disruption to motorists was minimal and we were able to switch traffic to the local diversion through Glen Croe quickly and safely.

“This morning we carefully inspected the water channels and hillside following the wet conditions yesterday and were content to reopen the A83 as before.

“We’re now looking to continue with the 24-hour operation of the A83 trial as before, however we will keep the Old Military Road on standby ahead of further wet weather forecast from Sunday night.

“We’re continuing to work on a safety-first approach, and we will only operate the A83 for motorists if we are content that it is safe to do so.

BEAR Scotland has been working to enhance landslip resilience on the hillside above and below the road.

This work includes installing a new debris fence, strengthening existing debris fences and enhancing the drainage in the area.

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