Alan Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 "Stronger" For Scotland (infrastructure) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 i dont disagree with it but there's clear evidence out there that contracts have been out to tender from as far back as 2010 that explicitly refer to work on over-stressed truss end links. My memory's a bit rusty on this but was there not an alternative option to spending the budget on the new crossing, for increased remedial work on the bridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antidote Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 "Stronger" For Scotland (infrastructure) Better together for no infrastructure for Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld_Reekie Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 My memory's a bit rusty on this but was there not an alternative option to spending the budget on the new crossing, for increased remedial work on the bridge? Haven't a clue. This doesn't exactly fill me with confidence though: http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=MAY077389 I mean. Thats 2010 and it clearly identifies required work in what looks like the exact areas that have been shown to fail or fracture. Whatever the reason for cancelling or deferring that work, it's hard not to conclude that FETA, Transport Scotland and/or the Scottish Government have serious questions to answer regardless. New bridge or not, it is not acceptable for what we've seen happen, happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 It's curious that this proposal was cancelled around the same time as the new bridge bill was going through parliament. I can only assume the advice was that the bridge should be able to hold out until the new crossing opened at which point the load on the old bridge would be greatly reduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Didn't know about any of this, pretty interesting. It'll come out as "political will" will be there since SNP government. Who might need to share some of the blame anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mee Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 Someone will be having a good look at the Erskine bridge now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Maybe the tolls should have been kept? Remove the revenue stream for populism. Dazzle with new sexy bridge. Cut back on maintenance. Bridge out of action. 8 years of responsibility trying to be ducked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louch Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I have no idea how people think you can fix something that isn't broken. And replacing the current broken part would still involve the bridge closing as that part not being there/ being defective makes it structurally unsafe. Alan- do you just jump on everything to say snp bad? Its a bit tedious that every situation ever you have to try and get political capital from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandydunn Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 What's happening with the bridge when the new one opens? Is the new one going to be "the bridge" or an additional one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamia Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 i dont disagree with it but there's clear evidence out there that contracts have been out to tender from as far back as 2010 that explicitly refer to work on over-stressed truss end links. I certainly do not deny that the bridge is massively over-stressed and over-capacity and the SNP now deserve huge credit for starting the new crossing, but that cannot be an excuse to turn the other cheek if public safety has been compromised or budget cuts have led to this. Dont get me wrong, politicians might not be to blame - it's equally possible that civil servants, FETA, Transport Scotland, whoever have failed to adequately manage or articulate the risk to the bridge - a thorough investigation is required and it's important people put their party loyalty aside and ensure that regardless of the colour of the rosette, an explanation is given as to how this has happened. And for what it's worth, Labour will be equally culpable when the long-term questions and investment is investigated. But no matter what way you cut it, the SNP are in for a horrendous time whether it's the questions about cancelled maintenance contracts or ending tolls that would have covered the cost of these contracts. I dont like it as much as you, but that's the reality. The thing is I am no Civil Engineer so would need to rely on one that had actually been involved and seen the issues if there were any to give their analysis of whether it was lack of funding or some other reason. If the Scottish Government have a part to play in this then they clearly have to answer to it but I don't feel particularly qualified to speculate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 A fair to decent chance of a proper SNP scandal. Bet you haven't stopped thrashing the heid aff it all week eh? It made the kids Xmas party yesterday REALLY awkward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamia Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Alan- do you just jump on everything to say snp bad? It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't ignore absolutely everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil r Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) Its a bit tedious that every situation ever you have to try and get political capital from Because no-one else ever does that on every single thread on here... Edited December 7, 2015 by neil r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 What's happening with the bridge when the new one opens? Is the new one going to be "the bridge" or an additional one? Being Fife, the new bridge will be looked upon with suspicion, after a lengthy trial with key witnesses including Scunnered, Auld_Reekie, a duck and Gordon Brown, the new bridge will be covered in Wicker and set ablaze. After 7 days of celebration they'll return to whining that they can't get to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thplinth Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 A few days into the crisis and the east coasters are predictably turning on each other, no spirit of the blitz there. Another week and there will be reports of cannibalism no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) Someone will be having a good look at the Erskine bridge nowRight enough, mind it was shut for weeks after an oil rig collided with it.Shit happens... What's happening with the bridge when the new one opens? Is the new one going to be "the bridge" or an additional one? It will be known as the Queensferry Crossing. The Forth Road Bridge will remain so, only to be used by buses and non-motorway traffic... Edited December 7, 2015 by Toepoke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandydunn Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Thanks for the replies. Nice to be able to post on a thread that doesn't get locked nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalgety Bay TA Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 First proper day of Bridgegate. Got the last car parking space at Inverkeithing station car park at just before 7am. It normally has spaces up until about 7.45-8am. To be fair to station they have it some decent organisation in place and a queuing system to get onto Edinburgh bound platform rather than just leaving it as a free for all. Trained turned up at 7.10, busy, quite a few folk got on. Another turned up 10 mins later, empty, managed to get on that and get a seat. Inverkeithing is the main station in Fife for Edinburgh trains and the organisation definitely made it as smooth as could be expected this morning but I have read some reports of other stations having no such controls in place and it being pretty much free for all and folks having no chance of getting on trains. Also a few reports of people ignoring the bus/HGV only route on A985 and just going on it anyway. I believe the Clackmannanshire Bridge crossing was at a standstill from early this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Also a few reports of people ignoring the bus/HGV only route on A985 and just going on it anyway. Lawlessness in a Police State . The Scottish Government really have lost control! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus_Young Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Thanks for the replies. Nice to be able to post on a thread that doesn't get locked nowadays. Give it time my man. We are only a few days deep here. There are already lads at my work losing their shit over this......and that's being polite. 'No good can come from living in Fife' isn't constructive apparently..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus_Young Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 First proper day of Bridgegate. Got the last car parking space at Inverkeithing station car park at just before 7am. It normally has spaces up until about 7.45-8am. To be fair to station they have it some decent organisation in place and a queuing system to get onto Edinburgh bound platform rather than just leaving it as a free for all. Trained turned up at 7.10, busy, quite a few folk got on. Another turned up 10 mins later, empty, managed to get on that and get a seat. Inverkeithing is the main station in Fife for Edinburgh trains and the organisation definitely made it as smooth as could be expected this morning but I have read some reports of other stations having no such controls in place and it being pretty much free for all and folks having no chance of getting on trains. Also a few reports of people ignoring the bus/HGV only route on A985 and just going on it anyway. I believe the Clackmannanshire Bridge crossing was at a standstill from early this morning. The queue was back to Forestmill at 7am I believe. Grim if you need to do that every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parklife Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 The queue was back to Forestmill at 7am I believe. Grim if you need to do that every day. Seen as my ex comes from Kincardine, i find the chaos she'll have to face every day very amusing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larky Masher Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Yes. The new bridge will have some of the most technically advanced monitoring systems in the world. Almost all new structures on that scale would have some form of remote monitoring. The existing bridge may well have been monitored but it would have been retrospective and therefore only installed in known areas of high stress, areas of concern etc. The issues with the cables that formed the basis for the business case for a new crossing were identified using monitoring apparatus. The bridge was never designed to carry the volume and weight of modern traffic, so it's not difficult to see why it's starting to show signs of distress. I'm told the defects were in hard to reach areas, so it may be that these were only inspected at longer intervals, say 5-years, during detailed surveys, rather than a more general annual inspection. Thanks for the reply, one would have thought that the "hard to reach" areas would have been the prime candidates for the installation of remote monitoring as the cynic in me can't help thinking that "hard to reach" is simply code for "not done often enough". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus_Young Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Seen as my ex comes from Kincardine, i find the chaos she'll have to face every day very amusing Ha ha well it looks like you will get a good while out of it m8 so enjoy. I'm delighted I only work a mile from the house, feck doing that every day. Mrs Angus Young goes back to work in the New Year and needs to use the Clackmannanshire Bridge. Already thinking she might be better off looking at trains. Were you affected by any of the flooding over your way at the weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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