A RELIEF road which was opened this morning after the A83 Rest and be Thankful was hit by yet another landslide - is to shut for safety reasons.
It has been open for little over 13 hours.
The Old Military Road reopened after 6.20am on Tuesday under convoy at Rest and Be Thankful following a 'significant' landslide on Sunday.
But it is now to close at 7.30pm "due to conditions on the hillside above the A83".
It brought some incredulity among some locals on social media.
One said: "Is it open or is it close. Very confusing."
Communities were told on August 13 that the A83 Rest And Be Thankful was expected to be shut for a further three weeks after the last landslip amid heavy rain on August 4.
But heavy rain forced the closure of the road with a new landslide causing more than 2000 tonnes of earth to block the route.
It has left the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful was covered in earth and debris as 75mm (3in) of rain fell in 24 hours.
After initial review it is now estimated that over 5,000 tonnes of material reached the A83 and Old Military Road.
Ministers have previously been accused of wasting nearly £80 million on more than a decade of failed solutions to landslides on the road after the latest multiple slips in heavy rainfall.
The Old Military Road is expected to reopen tomorrow (Wednesday) morning following a safety assessment.
A 60 mile diversion route via A83, A82, A85 and A819 will be implemented overnight.
Work continues to progress with the clearance of debris from the main A83 carriageway following the landslide.
The route reopened via the Old Military Road (OMR) local diversion on Tuesday morning and has been in operation throughout today following the completion of the clear up of material in that location overnight.
Teams have closely monitored the hillside today following rain and maintenance firm BEAR Scotland "consider this to be the prudent approach".
Safety assessments will take place from 7am tomorrow morning to determine if it is safe to reopen the OMR local diversion route.
Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s North West Representative said: “Safety is our top priority and following input from geotechnical specialists we have taken the difficult decision to close the Old Military Road as a precaution overnight tonight.
“The standard diversion route via the A83, A82, A85 and A819 will be reinstated from 7.30pm tonight. A full safety assessment will take place at 7am on Wednesday morning to assess if it is safe to reopen the Old Military Road.
“The clear up operation is progressing well which is allowing us to gauge the damage caused to the road, drainage and safety barriers. We will continue to give updates on this work as it progresses as quickly as possible.
“Safety has to come first and as ever we thank the local community and road users for their patience while we address the situation at the Rest. Argyll remains very much open for business and we ask road users to plan their journey in advance by checking Traffic Scotland for the real-time travel information.”
The Scottish Government was due to look at re-route solutions on the vital route for Argyll and Bute after a string of failed attempts to deal with the issue including the use of large catch pits.
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