BAD weather has been blamed for a six-month delay in opening the new £1.35 billion bridge across the Forth.
The Queensferry Crossing was scheduled for completion in December but cabinet secretary for the economy Keith Brown revealed “adverse weather conditions” in April and May means it will not be ready until next May.
He said the contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), has told Transport Scotland that it is unable to meet the target opening date.
In a statement to MSPs yesterday, Brown said delay was a “very recent development” and 25 days had been lost on the job because of high winds earlier this year.
Work was also halted in April, when a 60-year-old worker was killed on the site.
Brown added: “We will continue to work closely with the contractors and I will personally ensure that every pressure and every resource is brought to bear to deliver or even better the revised target date of May 2017. We have always been ambitious about this project and have worked towards a deliberately ambitious target.”
The new crossing employs more than 1,200 people and more than 12 million man hours have already gone into the project.
In response to a question from Tory Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser, the minister said the bad weather had “exceeded expectations” and resulted in an increase in the number of days lost.
Fraser said: “This is very disappointing news for people on both sides of the bridge.
“They were continually told by the Scottish Government that this project was ahead of schedule and would soon be up and running.”
The existing Forth Road Bridge was closed to traffic for almost three weeks in December after a crack was discovered under a truss in the roadway.
Fraser called for assurances that the current bridge is fit to continue carrying traffic until work on the new crossing is completed.
Brown confirmed the December completion date had been set over concerns about the Forth Road Bridge, but said he was confident it could handle the traffic for another six months.
He added “everything possible” was being done to get the bridge open as quickly as possible in line with safety requirements.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here