Hard shoulder to take strain of bridge works

SCOTLAND’S first motorway hard shoulder section will open up for traffic near the Forth Road Bridge later this year to help cope with likely congestion due to the construction of the new crossing.

The 2.5-mile stretch on the southbound section of the M90 north of the existing Bridge is to be opened up as a specific bus lane.

The aim is to relieve pressure on the two-lane motorway stretch which leads to the bridge as work on the new £1.5 billion crossing begins in earnest.

It will continue until 2016, or when the new bridge is complete.

Moves to open up hard shoulders to traffic have been piloted in England, as improved reliability of vehicles has ensured they are no longer required as much as in the past.

If successful, the M90 bus lane could be the first of others, with the Scottish Government also examining whether to open up a similar bus lane on the M77 between Glasgow and Kilmarnock.

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said the new bus lane on the M90 would be up and running from later this year.

“This will remain in place at least until the construction of the Forth replacement crossing is complete, which is on schedule to open in 2016,” she said.

The spokeswoman added: “Thereafter, a feasibility exercise will be undertaken to establish whether the bus lane should be retained on a permanent basis.”

The lane will be policed with traffic control measures including CCTV, electronic gantry signs and the use of lay-bys as emergency refuges.

Neil Greig, director of policy and the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “What we have here is Scotland’s first managed motorway which would have really intense use of CCTV, refuge for people to use in case of emergency and variable speed limits. The experience in England is that this is turning out to be safer.”