The famous Rest and Be Thankful road in Scotland is to benefit from the construction of a new debris shelter tunnel. This will boost safety for the scenic A83 route, which is popular with tourists to Scotland as well as being an important transport link. The road is notorious for frequent blockages caused by landslips, which provide a serious safety hazard for drivers and can also result in lengthy detours.
The new debris protection tunnel will have to be around 1.4km long. Closures to the route called by landslips have resulted in the historic Military Road built in the 18th century having to carry traffic instead, although this is not suitable for heavy vehicles. The Military Road has itself been subject to closures in poor weather and the diversion has resulted in long detours of around 95km.
Construction of the debris tunnel section is expected to cost up to £470 million (€528.5 million) according to Transport Scotland. Debris shelter tunnels of this type are used widely in Europe, such as in Italy and Spain, to protect drivers from landslips. These are installed typically on coastal routes or in mountainous areas.
