March 20 2024

Transport Scotland has advanced design development on medium and long-term solutions for a landslip-prone section of the A83 in Argyll and Bute.

A stretch of road leading to the Rest & Be Thankful car park viewpoint is subject to regular road closures necessitating the lengthy redirection of traffic, with Atkins Realis and WSP engaged to identify means of minimising disruption.

The preferred permanent solution takes the form of a debris flow shelter, protection wall and catch pit along the area of highest risk. The technically challenging structure must withstand repeated high-velocity boulder impacts without scarring the landscape, leading to the consideration of slanted columns for aesthetic reasons and the use of a green roof - both features are currently under review.

Day-to-day operational challenges must also be overcome by maintaining access in the event of breakdowns, ensuring the ease of removal of captured debris and installing adequate lighting.

A medium-term stop-gap measure is being pursued in parallel with this work by upgrading the Old Military Road to minimise the threat of landslips through realignment and extending the extent of carriageway suitable for two-way traffic.

As part of this work an enhanced car park layout is proposed to reduce the number of junctions and level off the ground.

9 Comments

#1 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 20 Mar 2024 at 13:12 PM

Student lunch vibe stands out -- value for money or opportunity cost not involved.

I wonder if Ladbrokes will be opening a book on the cost of the design?

Money no object would appear to be the TS way -- hobby horsing using someone else's money.

The sane solution would be to build a replacement road on the other side of the valley at a much lower cost.

#2 Posted by Maude Slide on 20 Mar 2024 at 13:58 PM

Is there not a chance with this particular design that a large landslip hypothetically ‘skates over’ the proposed roof, waterfalls off the edge and mounds on the pedestrian fence area, doubling back into the open side of the carriageway with mud and rock? Or is all the debris expected to settle in the gap between the proposed structure and the existing hillside?

#3 Posted by Ove Arup on 20 Mar 2024 at 14:16 PM

This will have Ove Arup spinning in his grave. Clunky, unimaginative design. The embodied carbon. Missed opportunity with the roofscape.....

#4 Posted by Robert Maillart on 20 Mar 2024 at 15:28 PM

Can we we have 'V-shaped' columns, at least, please.

#5 Posted by Hilloch on 21 Mar 2024 at 10:27 AM

Crikey, you're all so needy.
There's a million examples of this design in Japan where steep terrain and shifting hillsides are a constant peril...this doesn't need to be a Stirling prize winner, it needs to make the road passable

#6 Posted by Fat Bloke on Tour on 21 Mar 2024 at 16:11 PM

The debris shelter is three times the length it needs to be.

The build economics will be interesting.

#7 Posted by Steve Jobs on 21 Mar 2024 at 17:45 PM

#1 and #6 FBoT contribution offers up some real blue-sky thinking/perils of wisdom. Yeah, pretty sure driving an entirely new road through acres of forest on the other side of the valley might present some other issues. When it comes to the shelter length, clearly this has been elongated by greedy Engineers so to maximise their design fees. Gie’s peace man and get back to the window schedules.

#8 Posted by Mr Sane on 25 Mar 2024 at 10:46 AM

This has gone on far too long and is now just a joke. Other countries have faced and solved the same issue many years ago. Lets not reinvent anything, just copy the best design that would work for us and build it.

#9 Posted by Ian McLean on 1 Apr 2024 at 22:42 PM

Foundations on both sides of the road will be an issue. In the newly constructed catchpits and channels on the upper side and retaining structures way below the road on the lower side. All will have to be carried out from existing road platform level. Prolonged complete closure using the OMR? Or many years of convoy contraflow? I wonder how that was weighted in the option appraisal.

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