A592 Kirkstone Pass landslide repairs start
Work to repair the Kirkstone Pass on the A592 at High Kingate following a significant landslide has started.
The road between Troutbeck and the Kirkstone Inn has been closed since November when bad weather caused a huge landslip, which partly undermined the carriageway.
Councillor Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet member for Highways, said: "The landslip has occurred in a very challenging and restricted location, with steep banking above and below, and it’s not the easiest place to access, especially during the winter months."
Measures were taken to stabilise the ground and divert water away from the area to prevent further collapse, but Westmorland and Furness Council said at the time it needed to find a complex engineering fix to make the road safe again. Diversion routes and signage have been in place ever since.
Emergency procurement processes were used to bring in expert ground investigation teams, and surveys of the carriageway and steep banking started before Christmas, to determine the best repair.
Various options were considered, including carriageway realignment and building a tiered concrete retaining wall.
The council says the agreed works are designed to protect the landscape as well as improving the stability of the steep slope, protecting the highway and reducing the risk of future damage and landslips.
Now specialist contractors are on site starting the repair and reinstatement works, which include:
Rebuilding and strengthening the banking using special steel reinforcement bars (known as soil nails) installed into the slope.
A flexible steel mesh will then be applied to help stabilise the surface, followed by topsoil, seeding and erosion‑control matting, to encourage vegetation growth, which will eventually cover the mesh and soil nails.
A new retaining wall faced with natural slate, replacing the highway verge and upper embankment.
Renewing the road surface and drainage.
It is expected to take 12 weeks. The council hopes to re-open the important Lake District road before the start of the main school holidays in July and peak summer season for tourists.
Councillor Peter Thornton said: "It is a very well used route, both for local traffic and with tourists accessing Kirkstone Pass and the wonderful attractions in the Ullswater Valley."
"Local parish councils and businesses have been kept updated on the landslip repair process and the council has worked with Cumbria Tourism to help promote the message that areas around the closure have still been accessible and ‘open for business’," he added.
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