The third stage of work to prevent landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll gets under way next week.
The work will mean 11 weeks of delays on the A83 Tarbet to Campbeltown road at the hill pass between Arrochar and Cairndow.
Landslides have often blocked the main route into south and mid Argyll. Before a diversion route was built at the bottom of the hill, this meant a 50-mile detour for motorists, prompting outrage from locals.
Argyll and Bute councillor Donald Kelly, leader of Argyll First, was part of a campaign to get something done about the road with a petition taken to the Scottish Parliament.
He said: “The public will be quite happy that the work is going ahead, as long as they are kept well informed about any delays.
“The road has been closed more than 10 times over the years, sometimes for periods running into weeks. With the amount of rain we have been getting recently, I’m surprised there hasn’t been a large landslide in the last couple of months, so the work they have done so far must be helping.”
The work will involve the construction of additional debris netting on slopes above the main road.
To allow traffic to pass safely, two-way traffic signals will be in operation for the duration of the project. During daytime hours, the traffic levels will be monitored and if necessary, the signals will be manually operated to minimise delays.
The work marks the final phases of the rolling programme of landslide risk reduction measures, which has been put in place by Transport Scotland.
The Scottish Government has invested £3.7million in the project to date and these three phases will bring the total investment in landslide debris mitigation measures to £4.9million since 2009.
A further £2.55million has been invested to provide a local diversion route at the Rest and Be Thankful. This helps minimise the effects of landslides helping to improve the resilience of the transport network.
Bear Scotland’s spokesman for the north-west unit, Eddie Ross said: “These works underline Transport Scotland’s commitment to reducing the impact of landslides on the A83, bringing the total expenditure on landslide mitigation at the Rest and Be Thankful since 2009 to £4.9million. The measures will help reduce the risk of delays and road closures due to landslips at the Rest and Be Thankful and help support the local economy as a result.”