Forth Bridge: 11-mile tailbacks 04 | 12 | 2015
SCOTS COMMUTERS AND travellers who would normally use the Forth Road Bridge — which is closed today — have been told to "travel only if absolutely necessary". The advice fro Traffic Scotland came as 11-mile traffic queues formed on alternative routes as traffic headed for the Kincardine Bridge.
The Forth Road Bridge has now been closed since midnight, following the discovery of a defective steelwork.
This morning, Transport minister Derek Mackay said it was too early to say how long it would be closed, but emphasised it would be "not just today". A meeting will be held later this morning to confirm how long the closure will be.
The closure — which was taken following a late-night meeting by Scottish Government transport chiefs — follows the discovery of steelwork defects during inspections on Tuesday, which closed the southbound carriageway.
Further investigations identified eight other parts of the bridge where similar problems could be encountered.
Speaking to BBC Scotland this morning, Mr Mackay said: "It's important, on the expert advice we've had, that we get access to the site.
Related: Forth Road Bridge closed
"It's quite a restricted and difficult to access area to look at the repairs that are required.
"There's a complete bridge closure because the advice we've been given is that continuing to have traffic flowing across the bridge will cause further damage."
Earlier, a statement from Transport Scotland said: “The Forth Road Bridge is to shut following the discovery of defective steelwork earlier this week.
"The decision has been taken as a precautionary step after inspections carried out earlier this week showed a fault in the bridge steelwork."
The bridge is now more than 50 years old, and the planned traffic capacity of the bridge is regularly exceeded, shortening its projected lifespan. Around 75,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily.
It's more than 10 years since concern about corrosion of the main suspension cables was first confirmed, prompting ministers to order a new crossing.
As a result, the new £1.4 billion Queensferry Crossing is scheduled to open over the Firth of Forth in December. 2016.
Related: New Forth crossing to open December 2016
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Jim McGill