Council set to bridge the gap after defeat

EDINBURGH City Council is to appoint a new convener for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, which operates the Forth Road Bridge, following the defeat of former councillor Lawrence Marshall in the recent elections.

Mr Marshall was due to serve as convener until June 30 but now the council has been told it will need to elect a representative to fill the role until that time.

Whoever is chosen for the role will come in at a very difficult time for FETA, following the announcement by First Minister Alex Salmond that the tolls on the bridge, which bring in 12.1 million every year, are to be scrapped.

Bridgemaster and head of FETA Alastair Andrew said the decision had left tolling staff, maintenance projects and traffic management in turmoil.

He also said the future of FETA itself was now uncertain.

"We've got major projects running on the bridge at the moment," he said.

"We are halfway through a 3.5m resurfacing project. Then there's an 8m contract to dehumidify the main cable.

"We have no information on where the funding is coming from for the current contracts or the 100m worth of major works we have identified that require to be carried out."