General discussion and AOB including points raised by the A83 RaBT Campaign Group

FH invited attendees to ask any other questions, including the remaining points raised by the A83 RaBT Campaign Group as noted in the agenda.

Alan Bell (AB) said his positive experience with Pulpit Rock for the design and build contract in relation to the initial design meant that the contractors were able to come up with a build that ensured very little road closures. AB then asked if there was more information on cycling provision that could be shared.

RG confirmed that the proposed scheme included a link from the car park up to the forestry tracks to the western side of Glen Croe and that further work on walking, cycling and horse riding is ongoing.

JG referenced his questions submitted in advance of Taskforce which included a challenge for discussion with respect to the preferred option being the right solution for maintaining access to Argyll during the construction period, in the form of a two-way road, noting that the A83 RaBT Campaign Group had always supported the green option as it would not have impacted the A83 JG noted that a three-to-four-year construction period with traffic on the OMR is a long time.

FH responded by saying that the preferred option had been arrived at as an outcome of the options assessment process and to unnecessarily pause and reconsider would introduce delay. FH recognised that there has been considerable progress in developing the preferred option since the announcement last June.

RG provided an overview of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) process and the level of detail of the stage 2 assessment in relation to the preferred option which included assessment of the economic impacts, with the OMR in operation, and it still arrived at the brown option as preferred. JG acknowledged this.

GR summarised that as a result of the robust options assessment that concluded in June 2023, Transport Scotland is satisfied that they have the best option and the challenges noted have been identified and accounted for in the options assessment, recognising that all the options were complex and challenging. GR also added that cost was just one of the criteria assessed and all criteria are outlined within the stage 2 report. The Brown Option performed better over a range of assessment criteria.

Action 6

FH noted that this project in particular is difficult and challenging. FH welcomed the Taskforce engagement in looking at the various challenges from every angle to anticipate how we collectively think about these to minimise impacts on communities and business.