Rest and Be Thankful road remains closed after landslips

The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll is to remain closed after engineers identified three large boulders which pose a risk

A diversion of almost 60 miles has been in place since Tuesday after 2,500 tonnes of landslide debris reached the catch-fences above the carriageway.

Bear Scotland confirmed the boulders, one of which is 75 tonnes, are situated some 300m above the slope.

Engineers are now working to secure them by drilling into the rock.

They will then insert a device which will help break the boulders into smaller pieces on the hillside and reduce the risk of further movement on the slope.

The boulders were exposed after landslips and prolonged heavy rain throughout Tuesday prevented maintenance workers accessing the slope near the Old Military Road and the A83 carriageway.

Traffic Scotland tweeted on Wednesday morning that the road would remain closed in both directions "until further notice".

Teams have been using a helicopter to carry out aerial assessments while geotechnical engineers have also been examining the slope on foot.

Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland's north west network manager, said: "Safety is our number one priority and we cannot open the A83 or the Old Military Road until these boulders high-up above the carriageway are made safe.

"Yesterday's landslips have caused a number of boulders to become exposed which is causing some concern, and we want to be as confident as possible that there will be no further movements of material or the boulders on the hillside before we open the Old Military Road as a diversion which sits below the A83 carriageway.

"Our next steps are to work with geotechnical colleagues to safely secure these boulders and remove the threat of any further movement on the hillside, which they are working to do this afternoon and will resume again at first light tomorrow."

Mr Deans said about 150 tonnes of debris was cleared from the Old Military Road on Wednesday in preparation for the route to be used as an alternative local diversion route.

But he stressed it will not be used until experts are confident that the road is safe.

The next phase of the operation will see teams emptying and securing the material caught above the A83 carriageway in the debris fences.

Mr Deans added: "We continue to thank the travelling public for their patience while we do everything we can to address yesterday's landslips.

"We encourage road users to follow the diversion route via Dalmally or to find an alternative form of transport. We advise motorists to check ahead with Traffic Scotland for real-time journey information."