Argyll First’s campaign, Sign for the A83, has a major score to its credit already.
Transport Minister Keith Brown has announced an engineering investigation into, first how the impact of landslips on this singularly key access road to Argyll and the Isles.
Proof of the impact of the Sign for the A83 campaign comes not only with the investigation but with the specific additional details Mr Brown describes – echoing the terms of the Argyll First campaign: the engineering study is also to look at the ‘pinch points’ for traffic and pedestrians in villages the A83 passes through.
While there is an extended stretch of the A83, from west of Ardgartan to Cairndow, which is subject to landslides, the crucially affected stretch is that between the top of the pass at Rest and Be Thankful and the visible base of the hill east of it. This has the steep and unstable upper slopes of Beinn Luibhean tumbling directly to the road, which is cut into it, and falling on down as far again to the wide valley floor below.
The valley carries the old road from Ardgartan to the high pass at the Rest – and it was the old road which gave the great Pass its name. It runs to the foot of an alarmingly steep rise straight up to the levels of the height of the Pass – at which point it climbs by a series of tight hairpin bends. In the days when car radiators boiled at the very sight of a steep hill, making it to the top of the Pass was good reason to Rest and Be Thankful.
This old road is just about passable, alth0ugh its surface is, of course, badly degraded. It plays host to stirring motor sport hillclimbs . When the A83 above is closed with landslips, this road could take – slow and careful – car traffic, one way at a time. This would save the hugely prolonged diversion around the entire north west corner of Argyll, up the A82 to Crianlarich, the A85 to Dalmally and the A819 to Inveraray.
The Transport Minister has announced recently that he will look at the prospect of using this road as an emergency provision to back up the A83.
We would question the wisdom of this.
The old road is a single tracker, the rise to the rest and the hairpins – on a narrow base – could not safely be undertaken by the freight lorries that are the lifeline for Argyll.
Money spent on widening, re-engineereering and re-surfacing this road, even for basic emergency use, is money that would be better spent on implementing a vigorous and enduring solution to the landslip problems of this stretch of the A83.
We are aware, from reliable inside information, that Balfour Beatty, a major contractor to Transport Scotland is costing a ‘gallery’ solution – by far the best answer. This roofs threatened road sections, creating a run off over the road for landslip material, keeping the road open and allowing the removal of the fallen material frm the roof when conditions are favourable and again without requiring road closure.
The Trans;port Minister has recently said that Transport Scotland has ‘no plans’ to do anything other that continue the present roadside ‘mitigation measures’ on this section of the A83. This is accurate but spin-speak. ‘No Plans’ is the standard political formula for deniability, to be used up to the point of issuing a tender or formally starting a challenge to a sitting Prime Minister.
Our information chimes with the engineering investigation announced today – which, thanks to the determined Argyll First campaign, is designed to lead to ‘plans’ of a permanent nature to remove the fundamental economic stranglehold this fragile road section regularly inflicts upon the second largest local authority area in Scotland.
Add your support now to Argyll First’s Sign for the A83 campaign. It will run until February, when they will present it to the Scottish Government. The hope of a lasting solution actually being carried through to implementation will depend on the volume of broad support Argyll First can demonstrate. While the investigation is welcome, everyone knows that a standard governmental trick is to kick controversial or expensive issues into the long grass of a commission, investigation or inquiry.
Keep up the pressure. Sign for the A83 now.
Pressure from Jamie McGrigor MSP
Argyll-based Highlands and Islands MSP, Jamie McGrigor has given us the following information:
‘Yesterday when I questioned the Transport Minister about the A83 in the Scottish Parliament he revealed that Transport Scotland are looking at protective netting, shelters and the potential for planting of the hillside around the Rest and be Thankful and that the improvement and strengthening of the parallel forestry road as an emergency alternative will also be investigated- something I and my colleague Cllr Donald Kelly have consistently called for.
‘While these measures are to be cautiously welcomed, it remains my view that the Scottish Government is going to have to make significant investment in the A83 in order to improve this key strategic route and prevent future landslides closing the road, something which has the potential to cripple the economy. That is why I continue to urge constituents and businesses from Argyll & Bute and indeed beyond to support the “Sign for the A83” petition being co-ordinated by Cllr Kelly and others; this can be done online at www.signforthea83.com It is crucial that pressure is maintained on the Scottish Government and that they are aware of the strength of feeling that exists.’
Argyll First Councillor Dougie Philand requests meeting with Transport Minister
‘Dear Keith, it is with the greatest respect that Argyll Fist applaud your announcement today regarding the A83.
‘As you are aware we are currently being active in our communities to bring to the Scottish government the required evidence how important a route this is for the survival of rural Argyll.
‘We will continue to gather the evidence required to present to the petitions committee how this route is the life blood for Argyll but have to say that your actions and announcement today will go a long way to send out the message that the Scottish government is taking this issue seriously.
‘If it were possible for our group to meet up with you at some time we would see this as a further extension of your support for our campaign.
‘We appreciate that in times of such difficult financial constraints one cannot get everything one wants but for Argyll the recognition that the A83 is vital to the economic, social and recreational wellbeing of our county is paramount and will continue to look forward to a positive dialogue with you and your colleagues.
‘Yours sincerely
‘Dougie
‘Councillor Douglas T Philand’
……and looking forward to the day when an improvement in the road has finally been effected, we could celebrate it with a motorised cavalcade along its length….a procession of decorated floats headed by the bandwagon for which many are now scrabbling for tickets.
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For Jake: That’a a fabulous idea. We’ll pas it on to Argyll First.
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Using the old road as a diversionary route for cars sounds like a reasonable idea, but apparently even on the valley floor this road was sometimes blocked by landslides. Maybe, up on the hillside above, any unstable boulders that could reach the valley floor have all been dealt with since the ‘new’ road was built – in recent years the problem seems to have been water-related earthslips rathr than heavy rockfalls, but who can be sure?
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Before launching into such a major project could we have a thorough investigation, starting with the history of this stretch of roadway and of the surrounding countryside. And lets get this investigation underway soon, while there are people alive whose memories stretch back to when the road was built,
First – what are the anual rainfall figures for this location since the road was built.
Second – why, and when, was the present road built in this location.
Third – What difficulties. if any, did the contractors who built the road experience.
Fourth – What changes in land use and management have occurred in the surrounding environment since this road was built.
Fifth – what are the annual figures for landslips. and their exact locations, since the road was built.
One more point I would like to make. Allowing Balfour Beatty (or any other civil engineering conglomerate) to influence the proceedings would be the equivalent of giving a squad of 10 year olds the keys to a sweet shop. Guess what “solution” that they will recommend!
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Sadly when the big debate about Independence is the flavour of the month we still have a SH..t road system.
The traffic lights have a certain charm and the mountains are nice to look at but please we need a road and rail network that actually works. If the good old chinese can build a railway over ice surely we can travel over some leaves.
power to the people.
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