Ministers to face 'torrid time' over £2bn road bridge plans

Published on Tuesday 8 September 2009 09:49

SCOTTISH Government ministers have been warned they face "a torrid time" over their plans for the new Forth Road Bridge unless they answer searching questions on the £2 billion project.

Labour transport spokesman Des McNulty said there were still too many unresolved issues over the bridge – including how it will be financed, why it no longer includes a light rail or public transport lane and the long-term future of the existing bridge.

First Minister Alex Salmond promised a Bill to pave the way for the new bridge in his legislative programme for the next 12 months, unveiled on Thursday.

But Mr McNulty warned the Forth Replacement Crossing Bill would not be nodded through.

He said: "There is going to be very close scrutiny of this project. There is such a lot of money involved in this and it's so important for Scotland, we are not going to take anything as read.

"We are determined to turn the spotlight on all aspects of this proposal and if they cannot come up with answers they can expect a torrid time in getting their proposal through."

He said the parliamentary process of examining Bills in committee provided the opportunity to quiz experts on the proposals.

"There are a whole series of questions that we simply lack a lot of information about.

"The most obvious one is the financing. We are not convinced a road-only crossing is the best option from the point of view of the people of Lothian or Fife."

Mr McNulty also said there were problems with the government's plans to reserve the existing bridge for buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians.

"Is it credible we will have all the cars on the new bridge and a limited number of buses every hour using the existing one?

"As soon as there is traffic congestion on the new bridge there will be pressure on whatever government is in power to use the existing bridge, but that would probably mean upgrading it. None of the costings for the existing bridge have been factored into the equation at all."

Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat MSP Margaret Smith called on the government to improve consultation with people living near the new bridge. "Since the project was announced, consultation with residents has been poor and many have been left feeling confused and ignored by the government," she said.

Ms Smith said only contractors with a good record of working in Scotland, and delivering value for taxpayers' money, should be considered for the project.

A government spokesman said the new crossing could be funded from the government's capital budget, but ministers would still press for Scotland to be allowed to bring forward spending from Scotland's capital budgets for the next 20 years.

He said: "The peak spend will be 2013-16, so we won't be devoting significant amounts to the project for a few years. We will continue to pursue the point that we should be able to phase it over a longer period."