Rest and Be Thankful diversion to be used as heavy rain forecast

Traffic on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful will be forced to use a diversion ahead of expected heavy rain later.

Motorists will be directed along the Old Military Road from 13:00 as a safety precaution.

The Old Military Road diversion is expected to remain in place throughout Sunday, with a decision on returning traffic to the A83 trunk road to be made on Monday following safety inspections of the road and the hillside.

A yellow weather warning for rain is in place throughout western Scotland over the weekend, including Argyll and Bute, and an amber rain warning has been issued for the south west on Sunday.

Rain is expected to be persistent and heavy at times throughout the day and into Sunday, with most areas within the warning area seeing 30 to 50 mm of rain, while higher areas could get 100mm.

Strong and gusty southwesterly winds will accompany the rain.

The Rest and Be Thankful section of the A83 - a steep climb out of Glen Croe near Arrochar - is notoriously vulnerable to landslides.

Euan Scott, the north west representative of Bear Scotland, who manage the road for Transport Scotland, said: "The safety of road users is our highest priority and we closely monitor conditions at the Rest and Be Thankful on a daily basis.

"With the forecast for heavy rainfall over the weekend, saturation levels on the hillside are expected to increase.

"Use of the short local diversion along the Old Military Road allows road users on the A83 corridor to complete their journeys safely with minimal delays, keeping Argyll very much open for business.

"Subject to the weather improving, we plan to carry out geotechnical inspections on Monday which will inform a decision to return traffic to the A83."

People travelling over the weekend are advised to check real time journey information via Traffic Scotland's social media accounts.