Written Question · S5W-35602 · Session 5
What further temporary measures will be put in place to sustain the current Old Military Road and the Rest and Be Thankful while the replac…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what further temporary measures will be put in place to sustain the current Old Military Road and the Rest and Be Thankful while the replacement of the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful is being agreed and built.
The answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring continuity of access to the Argyll and Bute region. We have committed to progressing a long term solution to landslide risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and an announcement on a preferred corridor is due later this month.
As part of the £87M invested in maintaining the A83 since 2007, we have spent over £15M in landslide measures at the Rest and Be Thankful. This has helped to keep the A83 open for an estimated 48 days, when it would otherwise have closed.
As a result of landslide events over the recent autumn/winter period, further landslide mitigation measures have been installed including debris netting, bunds and improvements to drainage. The measures have also included the construction of a new £1M, 175m long, 6m high debris bund above the Old Military Road.
Together, the protection afforded by these other measures has meant that the A83 trunk road and the Old Military Road local diversion have been able to remain in operation for all but eight occasions (5 partial or whole nights and 3 partial or whole days) over the past 2 months, meaning traffic did not have to use the longer diversion via Inveraray and Crianlarich.
This is despite significant and well-publicised weather challenges, including formal Met Office weather warnings, significant snow-melt and storm-level rainfall totals (including an instance of 120mm over 48 hours).
Further measures to bolster the resilience of access via the Rest and Be Thankful have been progressed in recent weeks, including works to secure boulders on the A83 upslope.
As discussed at stakeholder meetings in December, we are also considering further mitigation measures for this area and the intention is to share this information with stakeholders in the coming weeks.
As part of the £87M invested in maintaining the A83 since 2007, we have spent over £15M in landslide measures at the Rest and Be Thankful. This has helped to keep the A83 open for an estimated 48 days, when it would otherwise have closed.
As a result of landslide events over the recent autumn/winter period, further landslide mitigation measures have been installed including debris netting, bunds and improvements to drainage. The measures have also included the construction of a new £1M, 175m long, 6m high debris bund above the Old Military Road.
Together, the protection afforded by these other measures has meant that the A83 trunk road and the Old Military Road local diversion have been able to remain in operation for all but eight occasions (5 partial or whole nights and 3 partial or whole days) over the past 2 months, meaning traffic did not have to use the longer diversion via Inveraray and Crianlarich.
This is despite significant and well-publicised weather challenges, including formal Met Office weather warnings, significant snow-melt and storm-level rainfall totals (including an instance of 120mm over 48 hours).
Further measures to bolster the resilience of access via the Rest and Be Thankful have been progressed in recent weeks, including works to secure boulders on the A83 upslope.
As discussed at stakeholder meetings in December, we are also considering further mitigation measures for this area and the intention is to share this information with stakeholders in the coming weeks.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S5W-35602 by reference.