ONE of Scotland's most iconic roads which has become plagued with landslides is to be out of action for safety reasons for the second time this summer - because of a forecast of heavy rain.

The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, one of the nation's most notorious stretches of roads has been the subject of ongoing concern over a 15-year failure to prevent disruption due to failed mitigation measures.

Now Transport Scotland's appointed maintenance firm Bear Scotland says that the important route will be closed from 8pm on Wednesday as a "safety precaution".

A safety inspection is due to take place on Thursday morning to consider if safe to reopen A83. The parallel single track Old Military Road will be in use overnight " as a safety precaution" due to forecast heavy rain, with motorists travelling in a convoy operation.

The Herald:

A past diversion convoy.

A band of heavy rain is expected to impact the area from early evening, with heavy bursts expected throughout the night and into Thursday morning.

Bear Scotland says further wet weather is expected throughout the week into the weekend and teams will be closely monitoring conditions in the area as well as observing the hillside. The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms which covers central and southern Scotland from 10am on Friday until 9am on Saturday, including parts of Argyll.

READ MORE: Rest and Be Thankful: Officials confirm there will be no landslide solution for 10 years

Eddie Ross, Bear Scotland’s north west representative said: “We’re putting road user safety first and diverting all traffic to use the Old Military Road overnight tonight from 8pm as a safety precaution due to tonight’s weather forecast of heavy rain showers.

The Herald:

The barrier along the A83. Source: Bear Scotland

“We have teams closely monitoring conditions in the area as well as the hillside above the A83, and we’ll assess the situation tomorrow morning with a view to re-opening the trunk road as quickly as possible if conditions permit.

“Looking ahead, we’re expecting further heavy rain to move through the area during the remainder of the week and over the weekend, and our teams will remain on high alert to respond to any changes at the Rest.

“Given the forecast for the coming days, the need for further use of the Old Military Road is possible, but we will do everything we can to minimise journey time delay and will look to maintain traffic on the A83 for as long as it is safe to do so.

“As ever, we thank the local community and all road users for their patience while we continue with our work at the Rest.”

A campaign - backed by 1500 businesses - issued a deadline of 2024 to finally resolve the issues with the important Highlands route which has been disrupted for over seven months since August last year due to landslips and the threat of falling boulders.

In April, it emerged that there has been some £4m "wasted" over five years of failed temporary fixes to the road.

According to official figures over £2.9m was spent on mitigation measures on the notorious stretch of road between April, 2016 and July, 2020.

And a further £1m has since been spent on a on 175-metre long, 6.6 metre high landslip barrier to stop debris from a potential landslip.

A new A83 route which could include a tunnel close to the A83 has been identified as the Scottish Government's favoured permanent solution to the landslip problems.

Transport Scotland says its preferred route, via Glen Croe, is "more cost-effective and quicker to deliver, having significantly less environmental constraints".

The Herald:

It was among 11 options put forward last year for a long-term solution to years of disruption for road traffic between central Scotland and Argyll.

But that choice has now led to five new options on the table for the new Glen Croe route, some of which include tunnels up to 1.8 miles long.

After a landslide in January, 2020, the transport secretary Michael Matheson effectively dismissed calls for the permanent rerouting solution and instead decided to spend £1.9m on another attempt to catch any landslip fall, a big pit at Glen Croe.

But that did not stop the road being brought to a standstill in August, last year, when 6000 tonnes of debris fell amid heavy rain.