Transport Scotland is on the search for interested parties for the work to develop the preferred option for the relocation of the Rest and Be Thankful on the A83, which has suffered a number of landslides in recent years.
Last month, Transport Scotland published its route proposals with it announcing the Glen Croe corridor Option 1 after recent consultation. The preferred route corridor is more cost effective and quicker to deliver, having significantly less environmental constraints, said Transport Scotland.
It is now looking to appoint a consultant for what it said is ‘provision of services to support delibery of a new length of trunk road at the Rest and Be Thankful which is listed under Access to Argyll and Bute (A83).
The tender document said: “As a consequence of increased slope failures at the A83 Rest and be Thankful, Transport Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, has identified the requirement to appoint multi-disciplinary Consultants to develop a scheme to provide a long term, resilient improvement to the trunk road network at this location. Some corridor sifting and baseline route options work has been completed.” It also said a consultant would be required to provide Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) scheme assessment work, assist in the promotion of the statutory consents and the procurement of contracting services. The consultant is also required to provide site supervision services, said Transport Scotland.
It also said that it wanted to deal with accessibility issues on the network as soon as possible and any consultant that won the contract would provide advice on methods to shorten the development and promotion process. There will also be a focus on providing interim resilience while the long term solution is developed.
The tender documents said that the value of the work could be £25 million over 10 years. Transport Scotland said it would invite five bidders to progress through to the next stage in mid-June. Interested parties have until 12 May to register their interest.
