Warning over Forth Bridge lane closures

Motorists had been warned to expect delays on the Forth Road Bridge this morning as work was carried out to remove an old lighting rig.

Bosses at the Forth Bridge said they expected delays in the early hours of Saturday as engineers worked to remove obsolete high-mast lighting from the approach to the bridge.

There were to be four full closures to traffic, although these were expected to take place between 12.30am and 9am this morning in a bid to minimise delays.

Each closure was expected to last 20 minutes, and the precise timing was to be organised by crews on the ground.

In addition, traffic was set to be restricted to one lane in each direction until 11am today, which could lead to further knock-on delays.

The work to remove the obsolete lighting rig had been expected to take place earlier this year, but due to technical issues the planned operation in August had to be postponed until today.

The works are being carried out by Bear Scotland, who won the contract after a competitive tendering exercise with a bid of £80,000.