Please, not a bridge too late

Published on Friday 11 May 2007 00:21

NEWS that completion of a second Forth crossing at Queensferry may not be completed until 2022 must alarm all those who depend on this vital artery.

The Scottish Executive has attempted to calm jangled nerves by suggesting that a 15-year contract period - which implies that the new crossing will not be ready for use some three years after the present bridge may be forced to close - is merely prudential. But with any major public construction project, the prudential often turns out to be a necessity.

This crossing, and its significance for the Scottish economy, is far too important for there to be any further delay. Politicians, who have been playing electoral games over tolls and their abolition, and the question of whether a tunnel or a bridge should be preferred, need to understand that the time for posturing is over. The disastrous effect that the absence of a crossing would have on businesses and jobs, not to mention the additional pollution that would be caused by diverted traffic, means that clear-headed decisions in the national, not the party, interest are needed now.

All the necessary information to take a decision about the location and the type of crossing should become available soon. Any further delay would be inexcusable.