Cables supporting the Forth Road Bridge are deteriorating at a slower rate than first feared and a newly installed dehumidification system is helping to reduce corrosion of the bridge wires. An inspection report was published last week in which the chief engineer and bridgemaster Barry Colford said the results “are encouraging”.

But he added that “a degree of uncertainty concerning future strength loss of the main cables will always remain” and that monitoring and inspections will need to continue for the life of the bridge.

Scottish Parliament’s Green Party subsequently claimed the report “removes the central justification for blowing over a billion pounds on a new bridge”.

Alison Johnstone, the member for Lothian, said: “We were the only party arguing strongly that repairing the existing bridge – even if the cables had to be replaced – would have cost a tiny fraction of the price and with no closure of the bridge.”

She added: “The Scottish Government must keep its promise to restrict use of the existing bridge to buses, bikes and pedestrians. Otherwise they will simply have created an eight lane motorway over the Forth, encouraging ever more traffic and congestion coming into Edinburgh.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said it welcomed the inspection report and added that it  showed efforts to maintain the bridge appear to be working. “This means we can continue to plan on the basis of the existing road bridge being used as a dedicated public transport crossing.”

Construction of the replacement road crossing is under way and is set to open in 2016.

(Photo: Tom Pennington)

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