THE A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful is to stay shut to traffic until Sunday after heavy rain in the area – and with more wet weather on the way.
The trunk road has been closed since Thursday morning after an overnight downpour increased the risk of substantial amounts of debris sliding on to the road from the adjacent hillside.
The Met Office has issued yellow "be aware" weather warnings for heavy rain in area – and in most of Argyll – for heavy rain from 6am until 9pm on Friday, and again from 12 noon on Saturday until 3am on Sunday.
The A83 in Glen Croe, east of the Rest and Be Thankful, has been plagued by landslides for decades
Until then, traffic in the area will be directed on to the single-track Old Military Road (OMR) diversion route, which runs parallel to the A83 through the centre of Glen Croe.
A 175-metre long, 6.6 metre high 'bund' has been built next to the OMR acting as a barrier against debris from a potential landslip in the area of most concern.
But trunk road maintenance company BEAR Scotland says the OMR may still be closed "if conditions deteriorate significantly" in the area.
The OMR was shut in the early hours of Thursday after spell of intense heavy rain which led to around 20 tonnes of material sliding off the hillside, though it was captured in one of the debris nets.
Transport Scotland route manager Neil MacFarlane recently warned that 100,000 tones of soil, rocks and debris was at risk of sliding off the hill and on to the trunk road.
Since Mr MacFarlane gave his warning, Argyll and Bute Council's leader and the MSP for the area have teamed up to demand that the government ensure a permanent replacement for the current road is completed by 2026 at the latest.
Following the latest heavy rain, Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West representative, said: “We’ve reviewed the weather forecast over the next few days and have made the decision to keep the Old Military Road in operation during the daytime, with the A83 remaining closed as a safety precaution.
“With the protective bund in place next to the OMR we have greater confidence in being able to safely operate the local diversion through the section of most recent concern during the forecast heavy rain, however we’ll keep it under close review should conditions deteriorate significantly on any part of the hillside.
The A83 in Glen Croe, east of the Rest and Be Thankful, has been plagued by landslides for decades
“We have teams continuously monitoring the hillside using specialist equipment and gauges to ensure we have an accurate understanding of the slope and any changes in conditions in the area due to the heavy rain and snow melt.
“With further wet weather forecast until Sunday we’ll continue to ensure we’re doing all we can to keep road users safe and minimise disruption to journey times through Glen Croe as much as possible.”
Real-time journey information is available from Traffic Scotland at www.trafficscotland.org, twitter at @trafficscotland or the new mobile site my.trafficscotland.org.
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