Critical resurfacing on Islay will get under way on 5 October, subject to weather conditions, on the B847 south of Port Mhor. The project will use traditional hot bitumen macadam, brought to the island via the CalMac ferry.

In recent years, transporting hot macadam to Islay has proved difficult. To address this, the council collaborated with specialist suppliers to develop a modern deferred-set, or 'cold mix', macadam that can be produced in bulk and used over a longer period after mixing.

This innovation enabled plans to move significant volumes of material to the islands by ship over a short timeframe. The approach was used successfully on Jura during the summer, and the intention had been to deploy the new mix on Islay to accelerate works.

However, the ship equipped with an on-deck crane—needed to offload at smaller piers and also used to deliver winter salt stocks—entered dry dock for repairs that have overrun, leaving it unavailable in September. It is the only vessel of its kind available for hire. While the setback is regrettable, it underlines the challenges of delivering services to island and remote rural communities. Officers will revisit the deferred-set plan with the ship's owners and aim to build it into next year's capital programme.

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To maximise safety and efficiency once work starts on the B847, the single-track road will be closed with scheduled amnesty periods: before 09:00 the road will be open; 09:00–12:00 closed; 12:00–12:30 open (a bus service may operate); 12:30–16:00 closed; 16:00–16:30 open with school transport in operation; 16:30–19:00 closed; after 19:00 open.

A diversion will be signposted via the C16/UC42 Port Charlotte–Kilchiaran–Portnahaven roads, and drivers should allow extra time. Afternoon primary school transport from Port Charlotte to Portnahaven will run via Kilchiaran. Access to Port Mhor will be maintained while surfacing is south of its access; works past the access towards Port Charlotte are programmed for the end of the site and timings cannot yet be confirmed.

Councillor John Armour, Policy Lead for Roads, Transport and Amenity Services, said: "It is very disappointing that we are unable to deliver the larger scale roadworks at this time. However, we have a window of opportunity to carry undertake the most critical work on the Islay network, which dovetails with ferry availability for the hot bitumen lorries. The work carried out already this year on Jura indicates that we are in a position to move forward early next year with large-scale works on Islay."