An innovative method to help prevent landslips closing the A83 is being trialled in Glen Kinglas near the Rest and Be Thankful. The ongoing £1.84 million catch-pit works at the Rest and Be Thankful involve digging and constructing three large ‘pits’ at the bottom of the slope that are designed to collect materials and run-offfrom a potential slip. The project has produced around 18,000 tonnes of usable rock, which has been stored temporarily, and designs have now been completed to re-use this material as additional protection for the A83.
A BEAR spokesperson said: ‘The material will be used in the construction of landslip mitigation bunds above streams along Glen Kinglas, three to four miles from the Rest and Be Thankful. ‘These bunds will form a embankment of material initially across six individual water channels next to the road that engineers have assessed to have the potential to deposit debris onto the trunk road should a landslip occur. The bunds will reduce the risk of debris reaching the roadside.
‘The bunds will be up to 10m high in some sections and have the combined capacity to contain more than 1,000 tonnes of debris should a landslip occur.’