The A83 Rest and Be Thankful fully open for 48-hour trial period

The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful will be open non-stop for the first time in over eight months this week.
A view down a Scottish highland glen, Glen Croe, from the 'Rest and be Thankful view point', in Argyll, Scotland (Photo: Jozef Durok).A view down a Scottish highland glen, Glen Croe, from the 'Rest and be Thankful view point', in Argyll, Scotland (Photo: Jozef Durok).
A view down a Scottish highland glen, Glen Croe, from the 'Rest and be Thankful view point', in Argyll, Scotland (Photo: Jozef Durok).

The major road through Argyll had been closed or partially closed after heavy rain caused a landslip of 6,000 tonnes of debris in August last year.

However, a trial 24-hour open operation over the next two days will now consider if the route can remain open safely overnight on a long-term basis.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The old military road will remain on standby as a local diversion route, if needed.

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.

Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative, said: “The two-day trial of running the A83 24-hours a day will allow us to identify any issues associated with operating the route at all hours for road users, and will enable us to optimise the convoy operation, shift patterns and overnight monitoring practices for the coming period.

“The Old Military Road local diversion route through the centre of the glen will remain on standby and we’ll have teams ready to implement the route quickly should conditions in the area or on the hillside begin to change.

“While we’re hopeful we can safely move to 24-hour operation of the A83, we must underline that if there is wet weather forecast or a weather warning – particularly overnight – which we think could impact the hillside then we will look to use the OMR as before.

"Road user safety remains of paramount importance and we will only operate the A83 if we are content that it is safe to do so.

“Teams have been working 24/7 on the mitigation measures in the area, including strengthening the debris fences and creating a new debris catch-pit, with such features strengthening landslip resilience and providing greater protection to road users.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“As ever we thank road users and the local community for their patience while we do everything we can to address the ongoing issues at the Rest.”

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.