1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
MSP calls for second Forth Bridge
Page 11
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A CAMPA IGN to pressure politicians into building a second Forth Bridge was launched in the Scottish Parliament last week (16 December).
Helen Eadie MSP (D unfermline East) is backing to the campaign, saying the limited lifespan of the present bridge makes the construction of another way of crossing the Firth of Forth imperative.
-Some people have suggested a bridge while others have talked about a tunnel," she adds. "But we certainly need something.
Part of the problem is that the existing bridge is carrying three times its original intended load. Some reports have suggested that trucks will have to be banned on the bridge from 2013 and that it may even have to be closed to all traffic by 2019.
-It would be Armageddon for the economy of East Central Scotland if we didn't have a bridge," Eadie warns.
She adds that because of the time needed to design and build a replacement, plans should be put in place soon:"The existing bridge took 20 years from design to opening. Scotland and Fife may not have 20 more years to build a replacement."
The Forth Estuary Transport Authority has already warned that the cost of dealing with corroding cables on the bridge is likely to mean an increase in truck tolls from £2 to £10 for the largest vehicles (CM 1 December).