THE Forth Road Bridge is to remain shut until the new year after faults were discovered in its steel work, Scotland’s Transport Minister Derek Mackay has said.
The decision to close the bridge was taken by the Scottish Government after inspections carried out by specialist engineers and following advice and assessment of the fault by independent experts.
Work is already under way to repair the crossing and it is expected to be reopened to traffic in January.
The complete closure of the bridge came into force at midnight, with major tailbacks experienced on diversion routes at rush hour.
Mr MacKay said the decision was “not taken lightly”, and steps are being taken to lessen the impact of the closure. A full travel plan is set to be put in place to ease the disruption, with additional train services and a potential passenger ferry across the Forth.
Long delays have been reported on alternative routes during Friday morning’s rush-hour, with Traffic Scotland warning tailbacks on the A985 stretched for 11 miles at one point on the approach to the Kincardine bridge while there was a six-mile queue around the Clackmannanshire bridge.
ScotRail said it was adding extra carriages and staff for services on the rail bridge to and from Fife but asked the public to “only travel if necessary”.
Earlier this week, traffic on the bridge was restricted to a single lane in each direction, following the discovery of a defect to a steel component beneath the southbound carriageway.
It was found by engineers on Tuesday during a routine planned inspection.
Mr Mackay said on Thursday evening: “In light of the latest information and advice, we’ve been recommended to close the Forth Road Bridge.
“The reason for that is that further traffic will cause further damage to the bridge. Having identified the fault, therefore, the bridge has to be closed.
“I know that that causes significant disruption and I thank travellers and drivers for their patience but we have to close the bridge for reasons of safety to undertake investigation and repairs, and therefore I would advise the travelling public to avoid travelling if they were going to use the Forth Road Bridge.”
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