Forth crossing costs come under scrutiny

Published on Tuesday 9 September 2008 22:44

THE minister in charge of the new multi-billion Forth road bridge is unable to confirm whether it will be the world's most expensive crossing.

John Swinney, the finance secretary, yesterday pledged to investigate cost comparisons with other bridges after being asked whether it would be the most expensive "in human history".

He was responding to Green MSP Patrick Harvie, the convener of the Holyrood transport committee, who quizzed him over the project's expected 3.2-4.2 billion cost.

Mr Swinney told the committee the scheme included "extensive" road alignments and "multimodal" capacity – lanes for buses, trams or car-sharing.

He pledged to find out if there was comparative information on the cost of other bridges to provide to MSPs.

However, Mr Swinney said a decision over funding – which could involve the planned Scottish Futures Trust – would not be made until the end of the year.

The Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency, which is leading the project, has told The Scotsman that half of its cost would be on connecting roads. Several miles of new carriageways and major junctions will be required to link the crossing with the M9 and A90,

John Howison, the interim project director, said the roads would also have to cross obstacles such as oil pipelines.

The bridge, just west of the Forth Road Bridge, is due to be completed in 2016 because of corrosion of the existing crossing's main cables.

The Scotsman revealed in June that a threatened lorry ban as early as 2013 has been put back to nearer 2020 following new cable checks.

However, Mr Swinney said that did not significantly alter the case for a new bridge, because it would not be known until 2011-12 whether pumping dry air into the cables to halt the corrosion had worked.

He said: "We can't wait until 2011-12 in the hope that the rate of deterioration alters."