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Second Forth bridge soon
Page 14
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Following four years of discussion construction will begin at Kincardine this summer at a cost of E 120m.
David Harris reports.
FL MUST SEEM to some Scottish operators that they have waited years for another bridge across the Forth, and now two have come along at once. Transport Scotland has announced that work on a new bridge at Kincardine will begin this summer; it should open by 2008.
This comes just a week after the Scottish Executive launched plans for a new bridge to ease the burden on the main Forth Road toll bridge, 15 miles furthereast (CM 9 March).
The new Kincardine bridge will be built by construction company Morgan-Vinci;it's expected to cost £120m. The scheme will include four miles of road to link the bridge with the road network.
This scheme has been under discussion for four years.
In 2002 the Transport Minister reported that bids for the project should be about £70m: the higher predicted cost is primarily being attributed down to the increased price of the raw materials involved, particularly bitumen.
The existing bridge carries about 24,700 vehicles a day but this is expected to fall by about 70% when the new bridge opens. The new bridge will take about 19,000 vehicles a day.
John Howison, chief road engineer for Transport Scotland, says: "This landmark bridge will bring substantial benefits to many people in terms of boosting the local economy, making travel in the central Scotland area easier and assisting in removing the hulk of traffic passing through the village of Kincardine."
The route of the new bridge has been chosen to minimise the impact on bird feeding grounds on the salt marsh and mudflats.