The fourth landslip in two months has hit the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful - but engineers say the road is back open this morning.
The iconic stretch of road was shut on Thursday afternoon due to a forecast of heavy rain.
And maintenance firm BEAR Scotland said that around 100 tonnes of slurry and run-off from the hillside filled one of the catch pits due to the heavy rain but did not reach the road.
The catch-pit will be emptied by teams throughout the day.
After a safety check the road was cleared to re-open on Friday morning, but has a traffic light control.
The landslip-plagued trunk road had been open for just 18 days in just over two months before the latest closure.
The key Highlands route had previously been hit by two landslides since the start of August.
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.
Some locals have called for a public inquiry into the problems, with many saying a permanent solution must be found.
Transport Scotland published details of the 11 "corridor options" for a new route to replace the landslip-prone section of the A83 include building up to three bridges or tunnels.
But the choice of solution is not expected till next year.
#A83 #RestAndBeThankful: A83 has reopened under traffic light control following a safety assessment at first light this morning. Teams continue to carry out mitigation work in the area. pic.twitter.com/LqcCY4imub
— BEAR NW Trunk Roads (@NWTrunkRoads) October 9, 2020
Engineers are continuing with work on further landslip mitigation work in the area including a debris catch fence on the hillside and a larger catch pit.
Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s north west representative said: “Last night we closed the A83 overnight as a safety precaution as prolonged heavy rainfall showers were forecast in the area.
“We reopened the road shortly after 7.30am following a safety inspection by out geotechnical specialists and agreement with Police Scotland.
“Teams will continue with work to construct further mitigation measures in the area, as well as to empty one of the catch-pits which prevented around 100 tonnes of slurry and hillside run-off from reaching the road during last night’s heavy rain.
“As ever we thank all road users for their patience while we do everything we can to address the situation at the Rest and Be Thankful.”
On Saturday the road, which is a crucial part of Argyll’s transport network, was shut overnight due to a Met Office Amber warning for heavy rain and was re-opened the following day.
A landslide on August 4 which brough down 10,000 tonnes of debris came as 100mm of rain fell in the Argyll area blocking the A83.
The source of the landslip was located around 200m high above the A83, which split into two main channels as it spread out in a “fan effect” down the hillside.
On August 6, a further slip saw material reaching the carriageway overnight via the steep channel scoured out by Tuesday’s landslip, exposing large boulders.
Teams completed the clear-up of 2,000 tonnes of debris from the OMR on August 7 and began work to construct a protective bund and channel parallel to the roadside.
The A83 reopened under traffic light control at around 10.25am on September 7. But the A83 and OMR were closed on September 12 due to forecast intense rain. This triggered a landslide which brought over 2,000 tonnes of material to the A83 with some reaching the OMR the following day.
There was further clearance of from September 14 as 5,000 tonnes of material had reached the A83 and OMR.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel