Forth Road Bridge to reopen ahead of schedule

The Forth Road Bridge is to reopen on Wednesday, after repairs were completed ahead of schedule.

The bridge was closed on the 4^th December after a crack was discovered in the truss under the carriageway.

The reopening of the bridge will come two weeks earlier than officials promised, after engineers installed a steel splint to repair the cracked truss.

On Saturday, a number of lorries were sent over the bridge in different patterns over five hours as part of load testing, which showed that the movement in the pin located at the lower section of the truss end link was not sufficient to support HGV vehicles.

Splits will continue to be installed at the other seven truss links as a precautionary measure but officials say this can be completed safely with the bridge open.

According to officials, a full inspection of the bridge was 90% complete with no defects detected.

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: “With the temporary solution now in place, the remaining work to install the long-term repair can safely proceed without the need for a full closure.

“For the complex and detailed interim repair to have been completed in this timeframe is a tribute to the highly skilled and dedicated staff who have worked 24/7”.

Chartered Engineer Mark Arndt, Amey’s account director responsible for the bridge, said: “While we are pleased to have finished ahead of schedule for non-HGV traffic to use the bridge, we are very aware of the on-going inconvenience for HGVs not having access.”

“Public safety has been at the heart of everything we’ve been doing and work will be progressing over the coming weeks on the additional strengthening works required to enable HGVs to start safely using the bridge.”

The repairs will be carried out overnight with lane restrictions on the bridge. Officers will be on patrol on both sides of the Forth, maintaining visable presence and ensure that HGV’s are stopped on approach to the bridge until the work is completed.

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