Structural Soils has secured a £5.5 million contract to carry out a detailed ground investigation for the Scottish Government's A83 Rest and Be Thankful Long Term Solution project.

The company will work with Transport Scotland to investigate the road, which is prone to closures due to rock falls and landslides. The aim is to gather the necessary data to design a 1.4km-long debris flow shelter to protect the road.

The project presents significant logistical and technical challenges, as the investigation must be carried out while maintaining public access to the road. Structural Soils will employ a range of specialist techniques to gather the required ground information, including working on steep slopes and coordinating with multiple stakeholders.

The successful completion of this ground investigation is crucial to the development of a long-term solution to safeguard the A83 and ensure reliable transport links between the Central Belt and the West Coast of Scotland.

Structural Soils Managing Director, Stephen 'Mac' Mackereth, said that, in what is likely to be Structural Soils' most challenging project this year, the team would deploy a specialist project team upward of 50 members to execute the work. The techniques required include sonic drilling of boreholes through the carriageway, boreholes on steep and irregular slopes above and below the carriageway with no vehicular access and geophysics on sloped ground, amongst many challenging exploratory types. The works will require use of multiple innovative approaches to exploratory holes in challenging locations. Collaborating with the client Transport Scotland, the designers and industry experts is the key to successfully and safely completing the ground investigation.

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Mac said: "Innovation and the ability to overcome a host of physical, practical and logistical factors will define this investigation. The physical constraints of this site will make access to many of the exploratory positions very difficult and unsuited to conventional investigation plant or access methods. Innovative use of a combination of access techniques, equipment and specialist trained personnel will be necessary to complete the scheduled works. Furthermore, the dynamic nature of the site will require adoption of a flexible approach with adaptable methods to fit conditions at that time and as they evolve.

"We will be drilling angled boreholes on slopes up to 60 degrees situated as far as 60m from the carriageway to depths of 35m, including rock coring. The intricate management of the resources on site will be the crux of the project, ensuring operations are conducted safely, efficiently and economically for the envisaged 16-week fieldwork period, subject to weather."

The Structural Soils Scottish office will lead the project from its Glasgow office. This project lends itself to the specialist skills, experience and expertise of the Scotland team which has seen the office grow in reputation in recent times to offer solutions to such challenging ground investigation projects. They will be working closely with Transport Scotland, and their technical advisers (an AtkinsRéalis and WSP joint venture) to ensure the geotechnical information required from each location is efficiently delivered.

Additional RSK sister companies expected to support Structural Soils include JB Site Investigations, CAN, RSK Geosciences, Central Alliance, Envirolab, Drilling Supplies, ADAS and RSK Habitat.