Skip to main content

TRL provides expert opinion on A83 landslide

Following the recent landslide on the A83 in Scotland, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory’s (TRL) Dr Mike Winter, head of Ground Engineering and Regional Director, was able to provide a rapid response when he was called upon for advice. TRL has worked closely with Transport Scotland over the last decade undertaking research and offering independent expert opinion on the risks associated with the potential for landslides across Scotland. TRL’s opinion was particularly sought on strategies for re-op
March 11, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Following the recent landslide on the A83 in Scotland, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory’s (491 TRL) Dr Mike Winter, head of Ground Engineering and Regional Director, was able to provide a rapid response when he was called upon for advice.

TRL has worked closely with 505 Transport Scotland over the last decade undertaking research and offering independent expert opinion on the risks associated with the potential for landslides across Scotland.

TRL’s opinion was particularly sought on strategies for re-opening the A83 taking into account the risks of further landslides and the progress of necessary remedial work, as well as the continued use of  the Old Military Road (OMR) diversion. Dr Winter was able to view the landslide from the air, along with Scottish Minister for Transport and Veterans, Keith Brown MSP, and assist with a full briefing on the situation including the likely phasing and timing of re-opening the road.

Continuing poor weather conditions since the slip have severely hampered work by the crew of geotechnical engineers and specialist subcontractors who need to access the hillside and assess the risks of loose material and make safe any boulders.

Dr Winter said:  “This is an excellent example of TRL working closely with Transport Scotland and their operating company (BEAR Scotland) to ensure that the road is reopened as soon as it is safe to do so, and to thus help minimise the economic impacts that such events have on the people of Argyll. The rare opportunity to view and event such as this from the air was a real bonus and will be very helpful in informing our future activities.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Women feel 'unsafe' on e-scooters: report
    May 17, 2022
    Research from Women in Transport & Voi Technology lays out issues and suggests ways forward
  • IBTTA: industry must commit to trust and accountability
    August 23, 2018
    Without a commitment to trust and accountability, the modern road tolling industry would not have the bedrock which it requires – and which customers demand, says IBTTA’s Bill Cramer When Tim Stewart, executive director of Colorado’s E-470 Public Highway Authority, settled on ‘trust and accountability’ as the themes for his year as IBTTA president, it was a very deliberate choice. Stewart was looking for language that would help deliver the global tolling industry’s message of service excellence to cust
  • Counting the environmental costs of ITS deployment
    October 29, 2015
    David Crawford looks at the latest thinking about calculating the benefits associated with the environmental side of ITS schemes. The penny is dropping that some environmental costs “are being shifted outside the traditional bounds of evaluation methods” for ITS-based road transport projects, according to researchers at the UK University of Leeds’ Institute for Transport Studies.
  • US tolling authorities braced for Hurricane Matthew
    October 6, 2016
    As the south-eastern United States braces for Hurricane Matthew to make an expected landfall later this week, tolling authorities up and down the east coast are already shifting into high gear to prepare for the extreme weather development.