Forth Road Bridge Replacement

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Type: New road with some parts under motorway restrictions
Status: Under construction
Authority: Transport Scotland
Cost: £ 2bn
Finance: Scottish Executive
Timescale: 2011-2016
Length: 8 km (5.0 miles)

Scheme Outline

Construction of a new cable-stayed bridge across the Forth Estuary to carry a dual two-lane road with hard shoulders. The bridge will be sited to the west of the existing Forth Road Bridge, which is suffering serious structural faults. The new bridge is being rushed through the planning process and fast-tracked to construction, but even so, it is feared that the existing Forth Road Bridge may be too weak to carry heavy goods vehicles before the new bridge can be brought into service.

The proposed new cable-stayed bridge will have three slender single column towers and will be 2.7km long, including approach viaducts. The road carried by the bridge will be designated as a motorway.

To the south of the bridge, a new motorway standard road will link the crossing to the A90 and M9, making use of the recently completed M9 Spur. To the north, the bridge will be connected to the M90, incorporating junction enhancements at Admiralty and Ferrytoll and road widening between those junctions.

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Progress

14 May 2008	Three preliminary contracts have been awarded, totalling £1.7 million, for topographical aerial surveys and ground investigation works.
23 January 2009	Public exhibitions are being held at the moment. The new road will not now terminate on the M9 but will tie in with the existing A90 on the south shore at the newly created Scotstoun Interchange which was created when the M9 spur was extended.
16 July 2009	Transport Scotland have announced that the Forth Replacement Crossing tender process has commenced.
17 November 2009	Legislation is now being presented to the Scottish Parliament. There is a big question mark over funding that is still outstanding.
26 May 2010	MSPs voted in favour of the new Forth crossing, allowing the project to proceed to the next parliamentary stage. Provided there are no major problems, work is expected to begin in 2011 and be completed by 2016.
25 December 2010	Final approval for the replacement bridge was given by the Scottish Parliament on 15 December 2010.
25 January 2011	The bridge has now received royal assent in Parliament and construction will begin later this year.
22 March 2011	The Scottish government has announced the preferred bidder for the Forth Replacement Crossing.
17 July 2011	The Principal Contract for the design, construction and completion of the Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC) has now been formally awarded to Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium. Construction on the FRC is expected to begin during the summer of 2011. Contracts for the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and the upgrade of the M9 at Junction 1a near Kirkliston have also been awarded.
23 September 2011	A mandatory 40mph speed limit came into force today in order to allow traffic management systems to be put in place on the M90 and A823(M), as part of the wider Forth Replacement Crossing scheme.
16 February 2012	Work has started at the M9 spur and there are now average speed camaras there.