Council to tackle landslip-prone section of Kintyre’s B842

Good news for the Mull of Kintyre as Argyll and Bute Council agrees to institute works on a stretch of road susceptible to landslides.

The council says that if will ‘formalise’ roadside and field drainage on the stretch of the B842 Conie Glen road south from Campbeltown to Southend on the Mull.  (‘Formalise’ is a word to excite attention.)

In addition to addressing the drainage issue – which would be formal enough – the Council will construct a new northbound lane, uphill of the existing road.

This solution does not remove the entire risk of slippage of the ground below the road. It is designed, though, to provide a reduced level of risk which can be better managed in future.

The Conie Glen road is built on top of an area of ground which has experienced landslides both prior to its construction and since.

There were ground movements about 40 years ago and again in 2009 – although experts believe it is likely that small movements have been continually taking place in between these times.

Since the 2009 landslip activity, the road has been reduced to a single lane at this point, with traffic flows under the control of traffic lights.

The Council engaged geotechnical experts, Scott Wilson, to assess the situation and indicate the options available, before drawing up the report considered at today’s (18th February) Executive meeting.

Council Leader Dick Walsh says: ‘It is extremely important that we do something at this location. The issue is not going to go away. The current situation is obviously of concern not just to the local residents, but to the many hundreds of people who visit the Southend area both for business and pleasure.

‘We believe this option is the best way forward, and the local community is supportive of it.

‘It will not reduce the risk entirely. However, we already have monitoring equipment on site which will alert us immediately if there is any future movement so that we can get on site straight away to stabilise the situation should it be necessary.’

With Argyll’s main arterial road, the A83, also wired up for monitoring equipment, the area’s transport system is beginning to resemble TS Eliot’s famous description of a city at night ‘like a patient etherised upon a table’. (Given the state of Mull’s roads. it may be local drivers who should be monitored for signs of movement.)

Joking apart, the B842 project will now move to the design phase and the intention is that the work will be completed towards the end of the summer.