Forth Bridge to partially re-open to HGVs 04 | 02 | 2016
HEAVY LORRIES WILL be given limited access to the Forth Road Bridge from tomorrow, but the full restrictions won't be lifted for another month, according to transport minister Derek Mackay.
From Friday — and weather permitting — up to 600 HGVs will be permitted to cross northbound only between 11pm and 4am every night.
The northbound lorries will have to queue, with only one allowed to cross every 30 seconds to minimise potential damage to the bridge. Under normal circumstances, around 7000 lorries cross the bridge dialy.
But Mackay admitted the bridge will not be fully re-opened to the lorries over 3.5 tonnes until mid-March because storms over the last few weeks have held up repairs.
Today's news comes more than a month after the crossing was re-opened to other traffic following a two-and-a-half week closure as a result of a fault being found with the “truss” structure which supports the southbound carriageway.
The limited access for HGVs will come as a major disappointment for hauliers. Originally the lorry ban was scheduled to be lifted in mid-February. This has now been postponed until mid-March.
Understandably, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) expressed concern at the limited number of lorries allowed to cross and said allowing them full access was “a matter of extreme urgency”.
Related: Forth closure costing hauliers £600,000 a day
Mackay said a second phase of repairs has to be completed before lorries could be given unrestricted access to the bridge.
“Allowing limited access to the bridge when traffic is lighter will hopefully provide some relief to local hauliers while repair work continues," the transport minister said.
“90% of traffic returned to the bridge in December, and while we recognise around 600 HGVs crossing the bridge each night does not get us to 100%, it is a step in the right direction.
“We will of course continue to explore every option to see if we can increase access as the trial develops.”
And according to the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland agency, which owns the bridge: "Relaxing the current HGV restrictions during the night when traffic volumes are lighter will help to mitigate the impact of the closure, without causing over stressing of the structure.
“A dedicated HGV lane and stacking area will be in operation to help manage the traffic flow across the bridge. Traffic signals will release HGVs on to the bridge at a rate of one every 30 seconds.
“The release rate has been calculated by engineers as the optimum rate to maximise the number of vehicles able to cross whilst minimising the impact on the structure.”
We don't fancy being the person who has to inform the driver of lorry No 601 that he can't cross the bridge.
Related: Forth Road Bridge to reopen tomorrow
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Jim McGill