Debating the future of the Forth bridge

A debate is now underway regarding the fate of the existing Forth Road Bridge in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. A new Forth Replacement Bridge is being planned at a cost of some €2.64 billion and once this opens, it will carry heavy vehicles, which will not be allowed over the current bridge. Excessive loading and corrosion have taken their toll on the current bridge, although measures to halt the cable corrosion in this suspension bridge have now been taken.
May 14, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A debate is now underway regarding the fate of the existing Forth Road Bridge in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

A new Forth Replacement Bridge is being planned at a cost of some €2.64 billion and once this opens, it will carry heavy vehicles, which will not be allowed over the current bridge. Excessive loading and corrosion have taken their toll on the current bridge, although measures to halt the cable corrosion in this suspension bridge have now
been taken.

When the new link opens, there are proposals to turn the existing bridge into a pedestrian and cycleway only, although there are questions over the high maintenance costs for such use.

Overall though, the fate of the Forth Road Bridge provides a case in point for all older bridges around the world. The existing bridge was designed in the 1950s and built to high engineering standards, opening to traffic in 1964. However the bridge now has to cope with considerably higher volumes of traffic than it was designed for. In addition, the maximum GVW of trucks using the bridge has more than doubled since the link was opened.
Road Structures

Related Content

  • Twin layer paving evolves
    November 2, 2012
    Dual layer paving offers benefits to wear life as well as major cost reductions - Mike Woof reports The concept of laying the binder course and wearing course at the same time is not new to the road construction market. Various contractors have been working on systems over a number of years, with several manufacturers helping directly with these projects. A number of firms have investigated this method but three manufacturers in particular, Dynapac and Vögele in Europe and Sumitomo in Japan, have made major
    Read More
  • Pūhoi-to-Warkworth motorway project
    September 25, 2020
    After a hiatus because of the COVID-19 lockdown, work has restarted on what will be one of New Zealand’s most visually impressive motorways. Andrew Thackwray, senior manager for project delivery for Waka Kotahi, the New Zealand Transport Agency, explains
    Read More
  • Stonehenge tunnel plans revised
    February 8, 2018
    Plans for the £1.6 billion Stonehenge Tunnel bypass in the UK have now been revised.
    Read More
  • Indeco cuts up New York City’s old Kosciuszko Bridge
    November 23, 2017
    An Indeco ISS 45/90 is proving essential for demolishing the old Kosciuszko Bridge in New York City. New York City’s old 1.9km Kosciuszko Bridge, which crosses Newtown Creek connecting Green Point, Brooklyn with Maspeth, Queens, has been out of service since April. By the end of the year, the polygonal Warren through-truss structure will be no more. To replace the old bridge, in 2009, the New York State Department of Transportation planned the construction of two cable-stayed replacement bridges.
    Read More

Highlighted Content