page_title: A82 road
section_title: Maintenance and improvements
hierarchical_section_title: A82 road / Maintenance and improvements
caption_attribution_description: English: Village hall, Onich
context_page_description: The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it as an important link from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands and beyond. The road passes close to numerous landmarks in the Highlands, including; Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, the Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle.
  The route is derived in several places from the military roads constructed through the Highlands by General George Wade and Major William Caulfeild in the 18th century, along with later roads constructed by Thomas Telford in the 19th. The modern route is based on that designed by Telford, but with a number of improvements primarily dating from the 1920s and 30s. These include a diversion across Rannoch Moor and another around Loch Leven, which was subsequently replaced by the Ballachulish Bridge.
  Several travel guides have praised individual parts of the road, such as the section from Tyndrum to Glencoe across Rannoch Moor, as providing memorable driving experiences.
context_section_description: The A82, along with the A9, has been frequently regarded as one of the most dangerous roads in Scotland. HITRANS have said that "of the 147 miles (237 km) between Balloch and Inverness, only 42 miles (68 km) can be considered to be of a functional standard." A campaign group, the A82 Partnership, has been set up to encourage the Scottish Government to continue to make improvements to the route. In 2002, the A82 between Tarbet and Tyndrum was listed as the third most dangerous Scottish road in an AA study. The Scottish executive debunked the report as "misleading". A further study listed in the 2012 Collins Big Road Atlas did not list the A82 as one of the most at risk to safety. In 2017, Member of the Scottish Parliament David Stewart criticised the A82's safety record in Inverness after a man was killed after being hit by a car on the road.
  The A82 around Loch Lomond has become increasingly congested as the loch has become more popular with tourists for boating, particularly since restrictions were put in place in the Lake District, coincident with improvements to routes leading to the Loch from the south. On regular occasions, the road is completely congested from Luss to the Balloch roundabout. The section from Tarbet to Crianlarich, north of the section improved in the 1980s and 90s, was frequently closed overnight during September 2012, because the carriageway had become worn out and needed urgent repair, including failed surfacing and potholes. Because of the narrow width of the road, it was not possible to simply close the road in one direction at a time with temporary traffic signals, as is the general procedure elsewhere on Britain's road network. Transport Scotland justified these works by saying that only 5% of traffic used the road between 10 pm and 6 am, when the works were planned. The official diversion route from Tarbet to Crianlarich is via the A83, A819 and A85, a detour of approximately 30 miles (48 km).
  Because most of the A82 is single carriageway, and the local geography means a detour can be a significant distance, there is a history of strong protest about closing the road. In August 2011, John Grieve, owner of Lochleven Shellfish Company, attempted to challenge Transport Scotland's plans to close the A82 overnight five days a week, for a period of up to three weeks, around the village of Onich, between Glencoe and Fort William. The Scottish Herald reported that, if the road closed, a journey from Oban to Fort William, normally 44 miles (71 km), would require diverting via Loch Tay and Ballinluig, a journey of 166 miles (267 km). In April 2013, Transport Scotland announced further plans to close the A82 at Onich for resurfacing, but they postponed the work due to an adverse reaction from local business owners. In 2015, a section of the A82 between Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit closed following a rockfall, requiring an official detour of 120 miles (190 km).
  Along with several other roads in the Highlands, the A82 between Tyndrum and Glencoe has been installed with permanent gates that are closed in the event of severe weather. These gates are now fitted with fibre-optic illuminated signs. The road has been identified as one of several trunk roads in the Highlands that suffers from problems with deer-vehicle collisions. In 1996, Transport Scotland set up a number of vehicle activated warning signs alerting drivers attention to nearby deer. Four of these signs are on the A82 between Tyndrum and Glencoe.
caption: The A82 at Onich has been closed overnight for resurfacing on several occasions, resulting in strong protest from the local community.
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