Forth Road Bridge - now in intensive care

[campbell]

We also don't do trolling.

Play nice, everyone.

Simon, I don't have enough facts to level blame. Maybe Scottish Govt should have commissioned the new bridge sooner. Maybe the End Links work should not have been cancelled.

But thanks to spin, bluster and politicians we'll never know.

I don't often feel much sympathy for Fifers * but just now I really do.


* joking

[graeme]

The bridge has been operating over capacity for years. It's been well known. So, that needed mitigated. By building a new bridge. Which is well under way.

So, for the failure itself I don't really blame anyone.

The only thing I'm surprised at is that there is no contingency plan for immediate long-term closure. It's been a bit of a mess. I'd have thought there was a park/ride, extra trains and immediate diversion signage plan filed away, but it did seem like they made it up as they went along.

[rossybee]

I'd say there's no single, straightforward source to apportion blame to.

Many many factors.

[Scuffers]

Humm...

I think your all being a bit disingenuous here to be honest.

the problems of the Truss links has been known/documented for 15+ years, it stems from the change in loading over the years, when the bridge was opened in 1964, the heaviest HGV's were 32 tonnes (law to allow them only was changed in 1964), we now have 44 tonne trucks on vastly higher numbers, hence the overloading.

In light of this, 5 years ago a plan was put together to deal with the trusses along with two other issues, but no sooner had it been put put to tender, it was cancelled because of funding.

Now, it's all well and good saying that they are building a new bridge, but that's kind of missing the point, for starters, this new bridge was never to replace the old one, it was to increase capacity (plan was one would be northbound, the other south), so the old bridge still needed to be maintained (unless you want to just scrap it?)

Now, we can argue all day about who is reconcilable, but it's pretty clear that when the SNP came to power and scrapped the tolls (great vote winner), they then did not fund maintenance to anything like the level it had been running at (as well as a complete change of the way it was managed, contracting out not just the work, but the management).

When both the Bridgemaster (Barry Colford) and engineering manager (Chris Tracey) resigned, you would think that would have raised some alarm bells?

Makes no odds what nationality anybody is, the politicians screwed it up, nobody else, played the cheap votes gag with abolishing the tolls, but did not then commit the budget to maintenance it required.

(It's the same deal that when the contract for the new bridge was awarded, they went with Chinese steel, basically stuffing their own steel workers etc.)

[tut]

Quite correct, Toll charges should never have been abolished except for Disabled Blue Badge holders driving a Lotus Elise.

tut

[Shug]

Simon, accusing people of being disingenuous because they haven't followed the engineering story behind it, not really on...

You will probably find most people give exactly zero sh*ts until it ruins their commute, then look for a solution, rather than checking back the history. For better or worse. Guess you've taken more interest in the engineering history than 99% of people do.

On the flipside, it's genuinely interesting to see your precis of the historical issues and filled in some knowledge for me.

Shame you have to open the post with a criticism of those who answered you...

[Sanjøy]

We also don't do trolling.

Remember the hot elise diver who also flew choppers?!

[campbell]

Yup. And paid the price.

[campbell]

as an Englishman, be interested to here from you guys who you blame for the fiasco?

And above you have answered your own question anyway, I think? ("SNP", yes?)

[Scuffers]

as an Englishman, be interested to here from you guys who you blame for the fiasco?

And above you have answered your own question anyway, I think? ("SNP", yes?)

well, from down here, that's what it looks like, I asked the question to see what the consensus was from your POV.

Reading the reports in the Scottish press are pretty uncomfortable, the comments on them even more so...

[Sanjøy]

as an Englishman, be interested to here from you guys who you blame for the fiasco?

And above you have answered your own question anyway, I think? ("SNP", yes?)

well, from down here, that's what it looks like, I asked the question to see what the consensus was from your POV.

Reading the reports in the Scottish press are pretty uncomfortable, the comments on them even more so...

I wouldn't bother with the comments Simon, just trolls looking for a fight.

[campbell]

well, from down here, that's what it looks like, I asked the question to see what the consensus was from your POV.

Reading the reports in the Scottish press are pretty uncomfortable, the comments on them even more so...

Fair enough.

I generally try to work round blame culture and look forward at solutions instead. Albeit with lessons learned.

I can't imagine how rough it is for Fifers right now. I can see the end of the morning rush hour queue from my house some mornings now. I'm 10 miles from the bridge. On the southerly side.

Who'd fancy being Bridge Master for the new one now...

[Sanjøy]

I think Ape would make an AWESOME bridge master. Priority lane for Tut, out of hours drag racing etc.

[Scuffers]

I can't imagine how rough it is for Fifers right now. I can see the end of the morning rush hour queue from my house some mornings now. I'm 10 miles from the bridge. On the southerly side.

Agree with that, for the people who's work/lives depend on the bridge it's nothing short of a catastrophe.

The politicians all go on about the economy, well, I can only guess at the effects this is having.

[Sanjøy]

0637 train from the Hamptons was quiet this morning.

S