Dunfermline Press | News | Historic day as gap is bridged at new crossing

Thursday, 4th December, 2008

Published: Thursday, 21st February, 2008 10:00

Historic day as gap is bridged at new crossing

WEST FIFE took another step towards having a new Forth crossing yesterday (Wednesday) with the official ‘landing’ of the second Kincardine bridge.

The event marked the first time that both sides of the Forth have been connected by the bridge and transport minister Stewart Stevenson was on hand to see the final piece being moved 30cm into place.

Afterwards, he confirmed that the project was ahead of schedule and said years of traffic chaos for the residents of Kincardine would soon be over.

“Clearly, for the town of Kincardine, taking traffic out of the centre of the town has a very significant environmental benefit,” the minister said. “It’s also going to make it safer for people using the roads.”

He added, “We’re 42 days ahead of schedule. The weather also has some influence on what we can and can’t do. We’ve had a relatively mild winter so far and the signs are that we should be able to stay ahead of schedule.”

Mr Stevenson added that the new crossing would have an impact on the wider area, beyond Kincardine.

“Whenever you create a transport infrastructure you create the possibility for growth,” he said.

Since the project was first announced, there has been some debate over what the new bridge should be called.

Fife, Falkirk and Clackmannan councils have all made suggestions and one possible name that has been put forward is the Kingdom Bridge.

But the minister insisted, “We’ll discover what we’re going to call the bridge when I announce what I’m going to call the bridge.

“I haven’t yet received the results of the consultation. There was a very large number of entrants so we will wait and see how quickly the officials can make their way through that.”

West Fife and Coastal Villages councillor Willie Ferguson was also in attendance at the landing.

He said the news that the project was moving along ahead of schedule was significant.

“It’s excellent, great news,” he said.

“This has been in the making now for the last 20 years. It’s the final step with the bridge being landed.

“It’s great news for the people of Kincardine.

“Even for motorists, the congestion will disappear for them.”

The new bridge has been constructed using a number of smaller platforms that have been floated into place and connected up across the Forth.

The project director for the bridge’s construction, John Osborne, said that the crossing was a unique structure.

“We launched the first bridge span on 22nd January last year and over the past 13 months have incrementally launched the remaining 25 spans,” he said.

The new 26-span bridge is 1.2 kilometres long. It is the second longest incrementally launched concrete bridge in the world and is the fourth of its type to be built in the UK.

Comment on this story: What do you think the new bridge should be called?

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