The Forth Replacement Crossing project has officially started with the introduction of a bill to parliament in November 2009. It makes the case for building a replacement road bridge to run parallel to the existing bridge, which would be made available to public transport and non-motorised users only. As the name suggests, the bridge is intended as a replacement for the old bridge which is straining under it’s current load of traffic. As a result it is not designed to be any ‘bigger’ carrying just four carriageways much like the current bridge (although there will be hard shoulders that could also be utilised for public transport or emergencies).
I am a resident in South Queensferry and as a result have a keen interest in the goings on surrounding the new bridge upon which work will commence in the coming years. While the local community as a whole is divided in opinion, both for and against the bridge, I will try to cover any developments from a neutral though skeptical angle. I will occasionally allow myself to post my own views and thoughts, but in general the onus will be to report on the developments and question the decision making of the interested parties.
Clearly with work not yet having started, there will not be an awful lot to blog on in the near future. However I intend to start work on the design of this blog and also post some details derived from the official government documents that have been posted. Already, there is a mass of consultation papers, artists impressions and proposals that any sane person should not need to wade through – so hopefully I can distil the main points here for all our benefit.
Whatever your involvement is with the Forth Replacement Crossing – if you have something you wish to share with the readers of this blog, then please feel free to contact me by leaving a comment on the blog and I will be in contact. All contributions are welcome.