A83 solution 'the worst of all outcomes' says Loch Lomond conservation group

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A conservation charity has slated long-awaited proposals for a permanent solution to a closure hit stretch of the A83 - calling it ‘the worst of all outcomes.’Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs have formally objected to £470million plans to install a debris shelter on the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, listing 26 reasons why they believe that it isn’t suitable.Transport Scotland revealed its selection of the preferred option following design and assessment work on five options through the Glen Croe valley earlier this yea.Debris flow shelters are akin to a tunnel with one open side and are a recognised means of protecting transport infrastructure and its users from falling rock and debris in areas susceptible to debris flows or landslides.Transport Scotland says that similar designs have been successfully used across Europe and beyond for many years.Currently drivers are sent on a two-hour detour via Crianlarich when the road is closed by bad weather.However the Friends have slammed the design, saying it would ‘spoil a famous, historic and iconic location’ and warning that; ‘the shelter itself will be vulnerable in the case of potentially very large debris flow events triggered by the expected occurrence of increasingly extreme rainfall events driven by the warming of the atmosphere.’The charity’s chairman, John Urquhart, said: “Having completely failed to grasp the importance of the cultural and scenic value of this iconic location, Transport Scotland is well behind the curve on this one.“The Rest is one of Scotland’s finest and most travelled mountain passes and solving the A83 debris flow problem there should have been grasped as a golden opportunity to create a world class gateway experience for travellers