Anyone driving along the A82 this summer will have seen the test drilling rigs in Loch Lomond. While the A82 along West Lomond north of Tarbet undoubtably needs to be upgraded, Transport Scotland ruled out tunnelling right from that start on grounds of cost. This was a terrible decision, made without any proper public consultation. Because of fjord like character of the northern half of Loch Lomond it means that for most of the way the only option for an improved road is to build it along the side of the loch.
Loch Lomond is one of the most famous bodies of water in the world, renowned for its beautiful and mostly unspoiled landscape. Instead of conserving that, our public agencies are actively planning to wreck 16.5 kms of that by an upgraded route mainly along the lochshore. Is there any other country in the world which would allow this to happen?
Other mountainous European countries tunnel roads, we don’t.
Instead of standing up for statutory aims of the National Park and its landscape, the Chief Executive’s update report to the Board last Monday showed the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has been co-operating with Transport Scotland’s preferred option.
5.4. Transport Scotland – The detailed design for the upgrade of the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan on West Loch Lomond is at an advanced stage. The scheme is 16.5.km long. It will address a longstanding bottleneck on a lifeline route through the National park to the North West Highlands. Over many years the National Park Authority had engaged with Transport Scotland seeking a more strategic approach to the upgrade of the route rather than individual localised projects [Comment: the LLTNPA was right to argue for a strategic approach]. This would allow more informed decisions to be made about the overall impact of the upgrade and inform more appropriate and strategic mitigation of impacts. The quality of the road design should also reflect the status of the A82 as one of Scotland’s most iconic scenic tourist routes. National Park staff had significant involvement in the design of the recent successful Pulpit Rock upgrade.
Its extremely concerning that anyone from the LLTNPA could describe the pulpit rock upgrade as a success. While getting rid of the infamous traffic lights, it does not even straighten the road out. A section of beautiful loch shores has been replaced by metal and concrete. Its ugly close up and ugly from the far side of the loch. The loch shore here is now inaccessible. An opportunity to improve access to pulpit rock, which should be a major attraction, has been lost. There is no proper provision for cars to pull off and it is dangerous to do so.
The steep cutting is now covered in iron netting. What’s more the sound of traffic now carries even more clearly across the loch, spoiling the experience of walkers on the West Highland Way.
This approach is now to be applied to another 10 miles of loch shore:
5.5. The preferred upgraded road line will require significant off road line land take and, to achieve the necessary road standards, will involve impacts on the landscape and ecology of north Loch Lomond, including significant rock cuts and impacts on the loch shore and native woodland. Transport Scotland and the contractors doing the design works are working on completing the detailed design, EIA and Roads orders by the
end of March 2019. Detailed mitigation and compensation for environmental impacts will be identified through the EIA process and incorporated into the scheme requirements. National Park Authority Landscape and Ecology advisors continue to work closely on the scheme. It is proposed to bring a future report to the Board once a finalised design is being consulted upon.
(Excerpts from Chief Executive Officer report to Board 10/12/18)
All of these impacts could be significantly reduced by tunneling.
Wby is the National Park not speaking out against “the significant rock cuts and impacts on the loch shore and native woodland” ? It was created to protect the landscape, wildlife and promote enjoyment of the countryside so why isn’t it dong the job it was set up to do?
Campers were banned from enjoying the shore here – and every layby now has a no camping sign – on the specious grounds that some were leaving litter and numbers were causing erosion. Having decided those impacts were completly, the LLTNPA is apparently quite happy to see the lochshore turned into a concrete highway. The LLTNPA’s priorities are completely warped.
It would of course be very difficult to tunnel the A82 all the way along the shore of West Loch Lomond from Tarbet to Inverarnan. There are a number of flat areas created by glacial deposits which would be difficult to circumvent and in any case tourists want to be able to get out of the car to experience the loch shore. The principle though should be to keep the main road away from the loch shore, leaving a smaller road or path for cyclists and walkers, and where the ground does not allow for this tunnel it.
To rule out tunneling, which is also needed at the Rest and Be Thankful, says something about how much the Scottish Government and its agencies care about our finest landscapes. They are obsessed with promoting scenic routes without any consideration of the impact poorly designed upgrades have on the landscape. People need to tell our politicians this is wrong before its too late because the National Park won’t do it.
I understand one other reason for not tunnelling at Pulpit rock was that Network Rail wouldn’t allow tunnelling below the WHL railway. Therefore its more than purely about the high cost of tunnelling.
Dave, very pertinent and I am sure you are right. This seems to me, however, a matter of political will. Are Transport Scotland and Network Rail saying Scotland’s civil engineers are not up to designing a solution which meets requirements of West Highland Line in terms of both safety and continuity and operation? Its convenient for Transport Scotland to be able to use NR as an excuse for what they have done and are proposing to do.
Let’s be honest- this is all about road users getting from A to B as quickly as possible. Once again the environment sacrificed to economic so called ‘progress’.
Car users should welcome the dawdling caused by ‘bottleknecks’ as an opportunity to relax and enjoy their surroundings. This would be vastly improved by goods, HGVs and cars, if desired, being diverted onto the rail system-whatever happened to Motorail? The con argument would be, I suppose, the infrastructure cost.
Thanks Vera, I agree there is huge potential to use the West Highland Line more. Unfortunately in the cases of both the A9 and A82 the Scottish Government are working on road improvements without any consideration of how to improve the railway that runs alongside. Rail improvements, should have come first.
“Scotlanddoes not do tunnels” I was informed at roadshow in Oban re one at Pulpit Rock. I challenged them to do the first one . Nil .
I worked in Italy where 100 miles between Genoa and La Spezia took six hours tontravrese across spinal ridges coming down to the sea . Italy then built70 , yes 70 miles of viaducts and twin tunnels from. Destroy Levante to north of La Spezia, in the time it took Scotland to put on 2
In 1 mile of Lochside road at Bridge Of Awe.
I returned to Italy to work again and frequently travelled the 130 miles from Sestri Levante to/from Milan in 90 minutes.
The A 82 on this section is mindblowingly antediluvian, pre 2930s.
All power to your elbow to get a lucid and superior result!
Donald, this is really interesting, the people at the road show obviously knew nothing about the history of tunnels in Scotland – I believe the Loch Treig-Nevis tunnel to the Aluminium smelter was at the time in the 1920s the longest tunnel in the world and of course in the 50s miles and miles of tunnel were dug under our hills to transport water for hydro schemes………………
Scotland has many attributes- its outdoor wild places- being top of that list- world renowned for them I would say.That stretch of road, one I travel many times, during all seasons- is to many as well as to myself – an iconic stretch- its beauty always to some degree spoiled by the lack of access to it for those wanting to stop and admire it or to study it further . Beautiful though the side of the loch is- it never achieves its full potential in terms of enjoyment
If ever the Scottish Government were handed an opportunity to show the country their commitment and in my view their responsibility to preserve and improve a natural aspect of our country and the reasons so many come and visit here – then this is it.
It will not be cheap no doubt, it may not be straightforward – it may take some time – some persuasion will have to be brought to bear with some – but to , at the end of it, have a traffic free safe pathway to cycle and walk along that stretch with numerous places to stop off for picnics and to enjoy the sights sounds and smells – will be worth every penny financially, aesthetically and morally in the long term – whilst the traffic trundles past some distance out of sight to the west. The shores would be even more bony and I suspect visitors to the area will increase- to the benefit of many.
There needs to be pressure brought to bear- petitioning directed towards those decision makers – to allow this opportunity to be provided for the benefit of future generations and hopefully also in mine .
Things seem to have gone quiet again on this. Are new works due to start this summer ?
Many using the route regularly do benefit from the recent remedial works which have addressed a few ancient problems. But it remains dangerous. Money spent “tinkering at the edges” of a crumbling structure – totally inadequate since the 1950’s -resolves nothing.
South of Zurich in Switzerland a full autobahn now runs covertly past the Walenzee through a system of tunnels. These were bored in the 1990’s one at a time, while the old route ( similar in many ways to the A82 south of Inveraranen ) remained in use. Now the old scenic route is used by cyclists visitors and slow moving local traffic. (This is an area of outstanding natural beauty)
If Scottish ministers were also to take themselves to Neuchatel slightly west of Berne, CH. they would probably find themselves on a complete autobahn, now hidden beneath parts of the old city along the lakeside. Built over a period of 6 years in the 1990’s, mainly using ‘cut and shut’ engineering, a new direct Zurich -Geneva autobahn is buried there. Traffic never stops. The old city meanwhile is peaceful now,new parks and playing fields run down to the Lake side.
There are so many examples of best practice in Europe. Yes, change does involve mess and noise for some years. But building in on a new line always prevents disruption to existing traffic flows, while massive engineering is carried out. Instead of ‘reinventing the wheel’ Scotland’s engineers just need Politicians to go study how major infrastructure projects can be run ( The fresh bridge over the Forth was ” no bother” ? ). Once contractors have relearned old tunnelling skills from Europe, could Argyll residents see some well engineered Swiss solution to ‘scree slope engineering’ employed on Rest and be Thankful ? Many Highlanders still dream of a tunnel round behind Fort William too ? ( Another place in Scotland where all traffic north or south depends on one mile of single carriageway without alternative .)
I do agree that Pulpit road should have been cut through or tunneled, but that aside we have a beautiful Loch side view and you want to create a tunnel with no views. Not exactly encouraging for tourists.
The road to Tarbert is great, fabulous sweeping bends, which allow the driver to enjoy the views and not be sweating buckets about a bus or lorry coming towards them. This is what we should be working towards