More wires break as Forth brid e corrodes

23rd November 2006, Page 8

23rd November 2006

Page 8

Page 8, 23rd November 2006 — More wires break as Forth brid e corrodes

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THE LATEST RESULTS of cable monitoring on the Forth Road Bridge have confirmed three wire breaks since August.

This is hound to fuel speculation that the bridge ma■,,have to beclosed to heavy traffic from 2013.A truck ban would spell disaster for hauliers in the east and north of Scotland who would face long, expensive detours via the bridge at Kincardine, which is already struggling to cope with the current level of traffic.

One member of the Scottish Parliament has estimated that this situation would cost the road transport industry an extra £8m per year in time and the additional

cost of fuel (CM 9 November).

Phil Flanders, the Road Haulage Association's director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, says: "Even if construction on a new bridge were to begin today, it would not be finished in time to replace the old one. Even so. something has to be done sooner rather than later."

The Scotsman newspaper is campaigning for a new crossing with backing from the Freight Transport Association. AA MotoringTrust, RAC Foundation and Superfast Ferries, which operates along the Forth estuary.

As well as continuous acoustic monitoring, other preventive measures arc being put into place to slow down the corrosion process. A dehumidification system, based on dry air injection, is to be installed. Work will start in spring 2(X)7 and will ta k e two years to complete, followed by a further 18 months to dry out the cables.