The Rest and Be Thankful is a key road for traffic to travel in and out of Argyll
by Graham Fraser, BBC Scotland News
Campaigners have staged a protest at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful over plans to introduce four years of traffic restrictions at the landslip-plagued stretch of road.
About 20 large vehicles including tractors and haulage trucks drove in convoy and beeped their horns to highlight an issue they feel will be economically disastrous for the region.
They were joined by local SNP MP Brendan O’Hara, who has launched a petition to call on Transport Scotland to change its plans.
Transport Scotland said the issue was being “treated with the seriousness it deserves”.
The A83 is an almost 100-mile (161km) major trunk road connecting the Mull of Kintyre and southern Argyll to the shores of Loch Lomond.
About 1.3 million vehicles travel the route every year and it acts as an important transport link for mainland Argyll as well as the Inner Hebrides.
But the Rest and Be Thankful section – a steep climb out of Glen Croe near Arrochar – is vulnerable to landslides and has regularly been closed by falling rocks and debris in recent years.
The closures can leave drivers facing long detours while the route is cleared.
In 2023, the national transport agency unveiled plans for an open-sided shelter costing up to £470m as its preferred solution to landslip disruption.
While a permanent solution is worked on, there is a proposal to move traffic along the Old Military Road on a single carriageway, in a convoy system, for the next four years.
CMr O’Hara announced earlier this month that he had started a petition against the plans.
He described the move as “economically catastrophic” for Argyll, and demanded the Scottish government find an alternative solution to ensure the free flow of traffic in and out of the area.
Almost 8,000 people have signed the petition so far.
At the protest on Saturday, Mr O’Hara told the BBC: “What the petition is asking the Scottish government to do is to not approve the Transport Scotland plan to turn the Old Military Road into a single-lane convoy for four years.”
He said there would be impact on tourism, farming and timber businesses among others.
“There isn’t a sector in Argyll and Bute that would not be seriously adversely affected by this. I cannot imagine another area of Scotland being asked to endure this,” he said.
“The people are joining the business community to say this is a non-starter.”
Calum McCrae (left) and Helensburgh Brendan O’Hara MP said the plans would be hugely damaging to people and businesses in Argyll
One of those taking part in Saturday’s action was Calum McCrae, managing director of quarry operator A&L McCrae.
He told BBC Scotland News the economic impact on his business if the plans were to go ahead would be “tens of millions of pounds”.
He said if an alternative was not found, then Argyll would be “brought to its knees” by the Transport Scotland plan.
“People won’t come. They are not going to sit for 30 to 45 minutes at traffic lights, each way, for convoy,” he said.
He thinks tourism will suffer, while several haulage companies would be “put out of business”.
McCrae urged Transport Scotland to look again at the plans, and said the campaign group had given the transport authority three alternatives to rectify the problem.
A spokesperson from Transport Scotland said the Scottish government remained “committed to delivering a permanent and resilient infrastructure solution to address the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful as a priority and as quickly as possible”.
They added that Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn would consider the views of campaigners and others, and would meet the campaign group and local politicians this month before making a decision.