Transport Scotland has announced that work to improve the Old Military Road through Glen Croe, which was once part of Major William Caulfeild’s Dumbarton to Inveraray military road, would go ahead.
A contract has been awarded to upgrade the Old Military Road which runs adjacent to the A83 main road. It is used for main road traffic whenever the A83 is closed due to landslides.
The Dumbarton to Inveraray military road was constructed under the direction of Major William Caulfeild between 1744 and 1749, with the Jacobite Rising of 1745 interrupting work. The Glen Croe stretch was completed in 1748. Responsibility for the maintenance of the road was passed from the military to civilian authorities in the early 19th century.
The current A83 was constructed in the 1930s and 1940s and was built on top of much of Caulfeild’s military road. It too was delayed by conflict and the Glen Croe section wasn’t opened until after the Second World War.
