Option 1 offers a permanent solution within a proposed 2km wide corridor along the existing A83.

The local authority said the option is the “only realistic solution” to prevent ongoing disruption and “should be progressed as a priority.”

Councillor Robin Currie, leader of Argyll and Bute Council, said: “After careful consideration of all the options presented in the consultation, the only realistic solution to prevent further disruption to this major trunk road in and out of Argyll and Bute, is to look at Option 1.

“After years of disruption, we now have the promise of a permanent solution but we also need a commitment that our preferred option can be delivered within the term of the next Scottish Parliament. We need a solution to be delivered as soon as possible in order for it to provide uninterrupted year-round access that Argyll and Bute needs and deserves. It is one thing looking at options, we now need a firm agreement regarding when work will start.”

Option 1, as outlined in Transport Scotland’s consultation, proposes a corridor option at Glen Croe along the existing A83.

The Glen Croe (A83 online) sub corridor is adjacent to the existing road corridor starting from the bridge over Coire Croe Burn between the Cobbler and Beinn Luibhean. It is offset from the existing A83 Trunk Road and re-joins the alignment of the existing A83 Trunk Road before the bend prior to the junction with the B828 and the access to the Rest and Be Thankful car park. It is approximately 1.5 kilometres long and would generally follow a similar profile to the existing road.

The Glen Croe (southern side) sub corridor is an off-line corridor within Glen Croe in the area of forestry on the south-west side of the valley. The corridor is approximately 4.3 kilometres in length and ties-in to the existing A83 Trunk Road approximately 3.2 km north-west of Ardgartan, in the vicinity of the A83/Forestry Commission Track and the Old Military Road junction, and the north side of the Rest and Be Thankful car park at the B828. The corridor generally follows the Forestry Track and road structures and ground engineering measures would potentially be required to fit the new road into the topography of this side of Glen Croe.

In addition to urgent work needed at the Rest and Be Thankful, the council is also calling for:

• Longer term improvements along the A83 trunk road to deal with substandard alignment and drainage and flooding issues both of which can impact seriously to the route; and
• An additional, long term and ambitious route into Argyll and Bute along the line of Option 5.

Visit the Transport Scotland website to view all the proposed options. The consultation ends on October 30.