How it happened
The damage to the Scammadale road embankment was due to exceptionally high river levels washing away the embankment. The repair to this embankment is complex and we have had to take time to design a suitable solution.
We had hoped these works would complete by 13 December. Unfortunately the wet weather, combined with the soils being deeper than expected, means these works took longer and we were working to a revised completion date of of mid to late February.
To deal with the deeper soils we had to change from using a 20 tonne drilling machine to using an A frame machine which can deal with deeper soils. This is slower and takes longer to set up for each action.
Work to make the route safe for all use involves installing rock anchors. As the rock is significantly deeper than anticipated (9m rather than 3m), the programme of works is taking longer than expected. Our approach however is delivering progress - soil nails for the active mesh below the road are complete; the area of deep soil cover has been drilled; the lower retaining wall is installed, along with micropiles and anchors; the excavation for the foundation is underway. We had hoped to complete this by 28 March, subject to weather conditions.
We have continued to liaise with residents regarding vehicles over 3.5 tonnes accessing the glen.
We have been working with the local community to ensure that they can get fuel deliveries despite the road weight restriction.
To provide an alternative temporary bin collection service for those households affected, we have sited large communal bins at the main road side of the unstable embankment, where our bin lorries can safely access. We are asking customers please, when they are passing, to dispose of their waste and recycling in these large bins for now, until we can reinstate the embankment and resume normal service.
Barriers are in place to keep traffic from the weak edge -
Image showing the extent of the affected banking – note the road is at the top of the embankment and this shot was taken before the barriers shown in the previous image were installed
