WORKS to repair a stretch of the A816 at Ardfern may not be fully completed until 2032, a council report has said.
An extreme rainfall in October 2023 saw 6,000 tonnes of debris fall on to a 200-metre section of the road at Bealach Mor, 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.
A report to one of the authority’s committees has now said that the delivery window for the permanent, fully realigned road is 2029-2032, which is said to reflect “geotechnical complexity and statutory preconstruction requirements”.
The details feature in a report to the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee for its meeting on Friday, October 9.
Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said: “Due to the level of investment estimated to be required (£14.8 million for the project, covering 2023’s ongoing emergency recovery, this business case and outline design phase and the future design and build construction phase) it is important that the options are subjected to further review and business case development in line with the council’s project pipeline approach.
“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.
“Specialist consultants and contractors shall be procured such that they can be retained for the full project life-cycle from the current point through to final completion to augment the capacity of council staff to manage this project.
“The earliest a design and build construction contract for the permanent realignment can be delivered is forecast to be in the 2029–2032 window.”
Ms Flanagan added that the service was managing local impact by finalising a localised inspection and compliance framework, and progressing an electrical connection.
She also said: “The Bealach Mor site presents a particularly challenging delivery environment. The steep topography, known landslip history, unstable ground conditions and requirement for further detailed geotechnical investigation mean that the preferred permanent solution cannot be progressed on the basis of standard road design assumptions.
“In addition, the surrounding environmental context, including designated and sensitive habitats such as sites of special scientific interest, requires careful ecological assessment, statutory consultation and appropriate mitigation to be built into the design and consenting process.
“These factors add necessary complexity to the programme and reinforce the need for a properly developed business case, robust technical appraisal and specialist professional support before any construction phase can be brought forward.
“It should also be noted that this work has been progressed alongside a number of other significant and complex infrastructure priorities being managed by the same professional team.
“These include emergency works on the A816 at Millbrae, the management of complex contractual issues associated with the Iona Breakwater project, and ongoing work in relation to the Gribun rockfall.
“Each of these matters requires specialist technical, contractual, environmental and project management input, and places additional demands on the finite professional engineering capacity available within the service.
“This wider workload context is relevant when considering the deliverability and sequencing of the Bealach Mor permanent solution programme.”
