Public asked for views on permanent solution for Rest and Be Thankful road

A £470m permanent solution for the “Rest and Be Thankful” is being put to those who live and work along A83.

Travel on the road has faced disruption due to closure, diversions and convoys for over a decade due to landslips at the beauty spot.

The A83 is a lifeline route that connects Campbeltown to Tarbet and onwards to Glasgow.

Fyne Ales is one of the businesses located along the route.

They rely on the road for both getting visitors into their tap room and café, and for distributing their produce across the country.

“It just causes us endless different problems,” said Jamie Delap, the owner of the brewery.

“Obviously we have delivery drivers going to and for, but also customers trying to get to us, because when there is a problem at the rest so many customers don’t come to this party of Argyll.

“This solution should have been on the able ten years ago and it should be in place now, it’s taken far too long to get to this point, but I suppose now we are here that is water under a ducks back and we need to just get on with it.”

The plans would see a cover built over the road, whilst deeper “catch pits” would mean debris from any landslips can be safely channelled away from drivers.

Work would also take place on the Old Military Road diversion to increase its capacity and resilience.

If approved, it’s estimated it will take four to five years to complete – a change that can’t come soon enough for hauliers in Campbelltown who use the route to reach customers.

“We are against the clock a lot of the time going into the city we have got to keep our drivers legal (under hours) and we have got to service our customer base. It does impact us greatly when things go wrong.” Says Archie McMillan from AM Transport.

“We use the OMR when it is available but that sometimes is closed as well, and it means going around via Crianlarich and that can cause us really big problems.” Says the haulage firm owner.

Elsewhere investors have earmarked the Machrihanish coast at western most point of the route for a £100m pound injection.

The money will create a new golf course and hotel, bringing much needed jobs and income to the area.

But all the funding in the world won’t matter if visitors can’t get there

“It is absolutely crucial that we get a solution and its crucial we get it ASAP,” said Ian Ferguson, resort director at Machrihanish Dunes Golf club.

He added: “I know these things take time to come to fruition but as someone who lives and runs a business on the route we need this urgently.

“One of the considerations we have for investors who want to partner with us is how to guests get here, how do they get back, and what risk could that post to their investment.”

The consultations end on February 7, any objections to the plans could trigger a public local inquiry, which residents fear could further delay a long-needed solution to the problem.