Repair works are continuing to be carried out on an historic bridge used by the A83 trunk road near Inveraray.
BEAR Scotland have been making improvements to Aray Bridge north of the town this week on behalf of Transport Scotland.
The 1776 built double masonry arch bridge experienced a huge flow of water from the River Aray earlier this year when around 160mm of rain fell in the area during 36 hours on October 7 and 8.
This caused several landslides across Argyll & Bute and the A816 road remains closed between Oban and Lochgilphead after a huge landslide at Kintraw near Ardfern.
The main structure of Aray Bridge was undamaged, but BEAR has been clearing a large number of trees from the river and assessing damage around its stone apron.
This is designed to protect the bridge’s foundations from the movement of riverbed material during fast river flow.
A plan is now in place to undertake urgent repair work to protect the integrity of the 247-year-old bridge, which already operates under a traffic signal control due to its narrow width.
BEAR Scotland plan to undertake the work in two phases, with the current phase including immediate protection works scheduled to finish before Christmas.
The second phase will focus on the permeant repair and replacement of the stone apron located under the full structure and will likely begin in early 2024.
BEAR anticipates that the permeant traffic lights at the bridge will operate as normal, with some possible short off-peak restrictions for deliveries to sites, using Stop/Go boards.
The organisation plans to minimise traffic disruption when these restrictions are implemented.
BEAR Scotland’s North West representative, Ian Stewart said. “The storm on the 7 and 8 of October this year brought an enormous amount of rainfall to the Argyll and Bute area and caused significant problems on both local and trunk roads in the area.
“Aray Bridge coped tremendously well despite being 247 years old. Whilst the main structure remains in good condition the protective apron to the central pier has experienced considerable scour which needs urgent repair.
“The work will be undertaken from the riverbed during low tide but deliveries from the roadside may require short duration restrictions.
“The nature of the work is such that we will be undertaking the repair as quickly as possible and will return in early 2024 to complete a more extensive permanent repair to the paved riverbed and apron, future-proofing the structure for years to come. We thank those travelling on the A83 for their patience during the work.”
Travel information is available from the Traffic Scotland website or on its X (formerly Twitter) page @trafficscotland