A KEY Scottish road is to be shut throughout Thursday for safety reasons, a day after users were told it would be shut overnight every day for another month.
BEAR Scotland said that heavy rain means that they have decided to close the landslip-plagued A83 at Rest and be Thankful and there is a prospect of further closures to come as a yellow heavy rain warning is issued for Saturday and Sunday.
The important Highlands route has been open for barely three weeks since August 4 when a landslip brought about by rain blocked the road.
Road users travelling on the A83 will be diverted via the single-track Old Military Road at the Rest and be Thankful throughout the day due to forecast heavy rain in the area, with teams from BEAR Scotland closely monitoring conditions in the area.
The A83 will remain closed from 6pm, until at least Friday morning due to a weather front moving in across the west coast of Scotland which could bring up to 40mm of rain in the area.
READ MORE: 'No more faffing about': Demands to reroute A83 after landslip
Hillside and weather conditions in the area will be closely monitored throughout the day by geotechnical specialists on site.
The A83 will be assessed on Friday morning ahead of a potential reopening during the daytime once the weather front has passed. On Tuesday it was confirmed that overnight closures of the road will continued until late November under new safety measures.
This is to in-channel barrier to be installed on the hillside above the A83 to provide extra resilience to the route. A Met Office yellow warning for heavy rain has been issued across parts of the west coast from 6am on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, and BEAR Scotland said it will be closely monitoring conditions in the area.
Eddie Ross, BEAR Scotland’s north west representative said: “Tomorrow’s weather forecast indicates that up to 40mm of rain is expected to impact the Rest and Be Thankful throughout the day, and for safety we have decided to run the Old Military Road during the hours of daylight tomorrow. “We’ll have geotechnical teams closely monitoring the area to note for any changes in conditions on the hillside.
#A83 Rest and Be Thankful❗️
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) October 28, 2020
28/10/20
The A83 will be closed throughout the day tomorrow as a safety precaution due to forecast heavy rain. Old Military Road will be in use as a local diversion for all road users from 6pm tonight until Friday morning👇🏻 https://t.co/h8XGm9tDo9
“Engineers are continuing with mitigation work at the Rest however will be stood down from working on the hillside if conditions deteriorate.
“We’ll carry out a full safety assessment on Friday morning and will look to reopen the A83 during the day if safe to do so. The OMR will then be brought back into operation at 6pm as part of the pattern of regular local night time diversions outlined yesterday.
“With Met Office yellow warnings in place for heavy rain in place from Saturday morning we’ll be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast this weekend.
“As ever we thank all road users for their patience and assure them we’re doing everything we can to address the ongoing situation at the Rest.”
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.
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