Drivers face 3½ years of jams to revamp single junction for new Forth bridge

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010 22:03

COMMUTERS in the east of Scotland face prolonged delays following a decision to upgrade routes near the site of the new Forth crossing.

Traffic will be disrupted for nearly three-and-a-half years during construction of a new junction near the new Forth road bridge, officials admitted yesterday.

Contraflows north of the existing bridge would be required during a "significant proportion" of the upgrading work at Ferrytoll, according to the Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency.

The news comes a year after The Scotsman revealed that major disruption would be caused by the work, which officials said would be more difficult than building the new crossing itself.

The junction, just north of the bridges, will link roads to and from both. It is also adjacent to a 1,000-space park-and-ride bus interchange. Nearly 70,000 vehicles a day pass the junction. Interim project director John Howison said: "We expect contraflows may be in operation for a significant part of the construction period for the junction and upgrading of the A90 at this location."

However, he said a key measure to limit disruption would be a requirement that two lanes were kept open in each direction on the A90 during the day. He added: "Traffic management measures such as contraflows or narrow lanes may be in place."

The Scottish Greens, who are campaigning against the new bridge, said the work would mean lane closures for much of the project. Transport Scotland was unable to confirm this last night.

Project manager Lawrence Shackman said a year ago that remodelling the junction may be "more complicated and challenging than the bridge itself".

The work will involve moving the dual carriageway from flowing towards the bridge to flowing on to the new crossing, which is due to open in late 2016. Such work and other connecting roads will account for one-third of the project's 2 billion cost.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: "We now know that the new bridge would cause months or years of serious disruption to users of the A90 north of the Firth of Forth, something ministers have so far failed to mention.

"I am now convinced that SNP ministers recognise in private that this bridge is unnecessary, unaffordable and deeply unpopular, but that they are afraid it would now be too politically difficult to abandon it."

However, Conservative deputy leader Murdo Fraser accused the Greens of "grasping at straws" by comparing the Ferrytoll work congestion with the "horrendous disruption" that would be caused if the Forth Road Bridge had to be closed for long periods for repairs.

Liberal Democrat transport spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: "The Scottish Government still don't know how they're going to pay for it, and we've seen no plans for how they'll deal with the inevitable disruption."