MOTORISTS travelling between Helensburgh and Lomond and the rest of Argyll have been warned to leave extra time for their journeys as work begins on the latest phase of ‘landslip mitigation’ near the Rest and Be Thankful.

Trunk road maintenance company BEAR Scotland plans to use more than 18,000 tonnes of rock, dug out during the creation of three large ‘catch pits’ at Glen Kinglas, to construct a series of ‘bunds’ above streams along the glen.

It’s hoped these bunds will form a built embankment, across six individual water courses, which will reduce the risk of debris reaching the road in the event of a landslip.

BEAR Scotland says the work will involve “short lengths of traffic management” for two to four weeks, in phased locations along Glen Kinglas.

While the road will remain open to traffic throughout the work, temporary traffic lights will be needed at each location to keep workers and road users safe.

Commenting on the works, Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s north west representative said: “Following detailed discussions with the landowner we are pleased to now start construction of this innovative new project to help mitigate against potential landslips in the future.

“We’ll endeavour to keep all stakeholders updated as the works progress and thank the local community and road users for their patience while we complete these important works.”

Real time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland on trafficscotland.org, on Twitter @trafficscotland or the new mobile site my.trafficscotland.org.