Road surface inspections for A85 Tyndrum to Oban: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
Record of road surface inspections from the village of Dalmally to Taynuilt between 1st November 2024 and 16th February 2025. Please include any defects recorded and repaired. Please provide location of each repair and defect. Please also confirm how these inspections were carried out.
Please clarify from previous reports received if the bridge near to Kilchurn Castle is recorded as river Orchy bridge.
Response
As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
Please see Annex A to this response for a copy of the inspection and defect report for the requested area and timeframe inspection that include the road surface, defects identified and the repairs completed. These inspections are classed as Routine Monitoring inspection (daytime Safety Inspections) and are undertaken by at least two people (one driver and at least one inspector) and carried out from a vehicle travelling at speeds not exceeding 50mph. If a defect is identified further investigation on foot may be necessary.
The bridge that carries the trunk road over the River Orchy near Kilchurn Castle is referenced by us as ‘A85 480 Orchy’.
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
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Edinburgh
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