Freight News, Road

Fife in chaos as Forth Bridge shuts

[ December 4, 2015   //   Chris ]

With the Edinburgh and Fife areas plunged into chaos by the sudden closure of the Forth Road Bridge on safety grounds, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is asking its members to report delays and problems with drivers’ hours. The Scottish Government has asked FTA to gather information from members so it can monitor the disruption caused and decide whether to apply to the Department for Transport (DfT) ease drivers’ hours rules.
The bridge was closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles at midnight on 3 December after engineers assessed a crack in the steelwork and is not expected to reopen until the New Year. The closure caused 11-mile queues at alternative crossings, themselves many miles journey from the Forth bridge.
A new Forth Road bridge is under construction, but this is not expected to be ready for another year. Commuters can still use rail services across the Forth via the famous Forth Rail Bridge which, at 125 years old, seems to have stood the test of time much better than its 51-year-old road counterpart.
The massive girders of the rail bridge were in part an attempt to reassure the travelling public following the collapse of the Tay Bridge a few miles to the north near Dundee in 1879. Clearly, bridge engineers in this part of the world are nowadays reluctant to take any chances.

Tags: FTA