WORKS on the A816 at Ardfern should not become “the new Rest and Be Thankful” for Argyll and Bute Council, a councillor has said.
A council official has said that works are being done concurrently, with no staging, at the 200-metre section of the road at Bealach Mor.
Extreme rainfall in October 2023 saw 6,000 tonnes of debris fall onto the stretch of the road, which links Oban with Lochgilphead.
Argyll and Bute Council built a temporary bypass route which opened two months later, and traffic returned to the original A816 route under single-lane traffic control in September 2024.
It has been forecast that the delivery window for a permanent, fully-aligned road is between 2029 and 2032, with a council officer saying that processes needed to be followed.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Friday, October 9.
Councillor Tommy MacPherson (Independent, South Kintyre) said: “When I got a response from the policy lead (Councillor John Armour, SNP, South Kintyre) at the full council meeting in June, he alluded to works being done in stages.
“It is something I have engaged with you on, and my understanding is that works can be consolidated.
“This is on a part with the Rest and Be Thankful on a miniature scale. We do not want it to be the new Rest and Be Thankful for Argyll and Bute Council. Everything we see is in miniature and we do not want it to run beyond a decade.”
Andy Summers, the council’s head of roads and infrastructure services, responded: “Works are being done concurrently and there is no staging. There is a process we need to go through of identifying the challenges we have in terms of environmental constraints.
“We are progressing them as quickly as we can, but we need to follow the process. We do recognise the economic impact, albeit it is not referenced in the report, but there is a process in terms of procurement of technical services and construction.
“That is what is leading to the delay in timescales in the report. There is no staging of works and we will carry them out as quickly as we can.”
Councillor MacPherson then said: “I appreciate that, but it is going to be a very hard sell for people.
“I would have thought that the consideration would be to prioritise this and get the road back to its permanent structure.”
Mr Summers said: “Having this timescale is not a reflection of priorities. We are delivering as quickly as we can within the constraints we have.”
Executive director Kirsty Flanagan previously said in a report: “With a large number of significant infrastructure projects currently either in design or delivery, the council does not have available the personnel with the correct experience and knowledge to do this.
“Therefore, it will be necessary to procure the services of a specialist consultancy to take forward the business case development initially to strategic outline business case and preferred option stage and then subsequently, subject to further member approvals and budget allocation to outline business case and final business case.”
