Check Rail Corner repair on the A835 by Loch Garve:

 

Separating the truth from urban myth! 

After at least four promised completion dates came and went and with the repair still far from complete, the following Freedom of Information request was submitted to Scottish Government |Transport Scotland to establish some fact from fiction.
Outstanding for so long, the long awaited repair at ‘Check Rail Corner, Garve’ now has a healthy presence in Google search results for all the wrong reasons!

As submitted on July 30th 2026

Dear Scottish Government
I am making this request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

This request relates to the ongoing repairs to the A835 trunk road at Loch Garve, where temporary traffic lights have been in place since January 2024 and at least four completion dates have now been missed.

Please provide the following information.

1. A timeline of the project, including:

• the original planned completion date,
• every revised completion date issued since work commenced, and
• the date on which each revised completion date was agreed.

2. For each occasion on which the completion date was missed, please provide:

• the recorded reason(s) for the delay,
• copies of any reports, site records, contractor updates or internal documents explaining the delay,
• details of whether the delay was considered avoidable or unavoidable,
• any risk assessments or engineering reports associated with the delay.

3.Copies of all progress reports, project status reports or programme updates produced since January 2024.

4. Copies of correspondence between Transport Scotland, BEAR Scotland and the Scottish Government discussing:

• missed completion dates,
• revised programmes,
• concerns regarding progress,
• requests for extensions of time,
• contractual performance.

5. Details of the contractual arrangements relating to delivery of the works, including:

• whether the contractor has requested extensions of time,
• whether any extensions have been approved,
• whether any financial penalties, deductions or performance measures have been considered or applied because of delays,
• if no penalties or performance measures have been applied, copies of any recorded reasons explaining why.

6. Details of the governance and accountability arrangements for monitoring progress on this project, including:

• which organisation is responsible for overseeing delivery,
• which officials receive progress reports,
• how frequently progress is reviewed,
• what action is taken when project milestones are missed.

7.Copies of any internal briefing papers, ministerial submissions or briefing notes prepared for Scottish Ministers concerning this project or its delays.

8. The current expected completion date together with any project programme or documentation supporting that forecast.

If any of the requested information is held electronically, I would prefer to receive it in electronic format.
If any part of this request is considered exempt, please provide the remainder of the information and specify which exemption(s) have been applied and why.

 

 Detailed response from Dr Hazel McDonald  – Transport Scotland Chief Bridge Engineer, Roads – Network Maintenance,  Hazel’s responses to the FoI questions paraphrased below,

Along with 130 supporting documents viewable in Dropbox {no account required}

A1. Please see document named “Q1 Annex A” to this response.

A2. Please note there is no single document that records all of the information requested above.
However, some information relevant to your request can be found within the documents provided as Q2
Annexes A and B to this response. You may also find additional relevant information within documents
disclosed in response to other parts of your request. Where information relating to the reasons for
delays, contractor updates, site records, reports, or related assessments is held, it may be contained
within those documents rather than within a standalone record specifically addressing all the matters set
out in your question.

A3. Please see documents named “Q3 Annex A – Q3 Annex OO” to this response for information
provided by Transport Scotland’s Operating Company, BEAR Scotland. Please note information in
respect of this question is also held in some of the documents provided with Answer 4 to this
response.

A4. Please see documents named “Q4 Annex 1 – Q4 Annex 5” and “Q4 Annex A – Q4 Annex MM”
to this response.

A5. Please see documents named “Q5 Annex A to this response for details of the contractual
arrangements. Regarding requests for extension I can confirm that extension of time has not been requested.

A6. Some of the information you have requested is available online here North west trunk roads
operating company contract | Transport Scotland with Schedule 3 sections 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 together
with accompanying Appendices being most relevant to your question

A7. Please see document named Q7 Annex A to this response. You may also find additional relevant
information within documents disclosed in respect of Question 4.

A8. At the time of your request the expected completion date is March 2027 but this is not a
confirmed date.