HELENSBURGH’S MP says it’s time to look seriously at the option of building a tunnel to solve decades of landslide problems on the A83.
Brendan O’Hara was speaking during a visit to see the clean-up operation on the trunk road near the Rest and Be Thankful following the latest major landslip earlier this month.
Thousands of tonnes of falling debris - including boulders the size of Transit vans - forced the closure of the A83 at Glen Croe after 100mm of rain fell in just a few hours on Tuesday, August 4.
Traffic has been diverted via the Old Military Road on the opposite side of the glen and is operating under convoy – though the diversion, too, has been closed on several occasions because of forecasts for more rain and the need to carry out repairs.
Speaking after a site meeting on the hill with Kevin Campbell, senior operations manager at BEAR Scotland, and local SNP councillor Iain Shonny Paterson, Mr O’Hara said: “This is the second major landslip this year that has resulted in the road being closed.
“With everything the economy of area has been through in 2020, this was the last thing our hospitality and tourism sector needed.
“I appreciate the heroic efforts of the BEAR Scotland workforce in building the mitigation pits and in clearing debris from the road.
"These are massive tasks but we cannot go on second guessing this hillside – one which will become increasingly unstable due to climate change and increased rainfall.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs last week that a permanent solution to the problem was “of the utmost priority”.
She added: “Clearly, there is a lot of work to be done on developing a solution, and we will keep Parliament updated.”
READ MORE: Major landslide forces closure of A83 near Rest and Be Thankful
Welcoming Ms Sturgeon’s statement, Mr O’Hara said he had recently spoken to engineers building under-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands.
“I have seen these tunnels from construction to completion,” he added.
“They work and have proven to be value for money in the long term.
“If the rest of northern Europe can build tunnels to connect their rural communities and their islands, there is absolutely no reason why Scotland cannot.
“Our ambition for the future should not be limited by what we have done in the past.”
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