A83 reopens after landslides blocked the road

The A83 in Argyll has reopened after the area was hit by 11 landslides in one morning.

Drivers faced a 60-mile detour when the road was closed on Monday between Ardgartan and the A815 Dunoon road, near the Rest and be Thankful.

Bear Scotland said five hours of heavy rain around Butterbridge and Glen Kinglas had caused the landslides.

The road reopened at 09:30 on Tuesday, following a clean-up operation and safety inspections.

Bear Scotland said two landslides reached the carriageway and blocked the road, while a third was contained by a roadside barrier.

When the A83 is closed, the nearby Old Military Road is usually opened to traffic.

However, on Monday it was also blocked by the landslides, requiring the 59-mile (95km) diversion via Crianlarich.

Geotechnical engineers assessed the area and debris was removed from the trunk road and ditches.

Traffic lights are still in place at the Rest and Be Thankful and at Glen Kinglas.

Euan Scott, from Bear Scotland, said teams had been working hard to clear the debris over the last 24 hours.

He added: “We will continue to monitor hillside conditions over the next few days and thank the community and road users for their patience.”

The A83 is an almost 100-mile (161km) trunk road connecting the Mull of Kintyre and southern Argyll to the shores of Loch Lomond.

More than a million vehicles travel the route every year and it acts as an important transport link for mainland Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides.

The Rest and Be Thankful section – a steep climb out of Glen Croe near Arrochar – is vulnerable to landslides and was closed for a total of 200 days in 2020.

In 2023, the national transport agency Transport Scotland unveiled plans for a mile-long tunnel, costing up to £470m, to protect vehicles from landslides.

The Rest and Be Thankful got its name because travellers and drivers would stop at the top of the 800ft climb to catch their breath.