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Road bridge shut, all Fife schools to close at lunchtime today

Published 8 Dec 2011 08:30 Print Comments 10 Comments

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ALL Fife schools will close at lunctime today (Thursday) due to the severe weather warnings for the area.

The Forth Road Bridge has been shut in both directions from around 10.40am today due to the very strong winds, as has the Tay Bridge.

These closures are currently causing significant disruption and Fife police are advising people to postpone their journey wherever possible or make alternative arrangements

The Kincardine and Clackmannanshire bridges remain open at this time, but are closed to high-sided vehicles.

Several roads in West Fife have been affected by falling trees, and a driver at the Queensferry Hotel in North Queensferry had a lucky escape after a large tree fell onto the car in the car park. The driver was unhurt but left shaken by the incident, which occurred around 10.45am.

Stagecoach are currently removing all double-decker buses from service, after one came off the road today while en route to Dunfermline depot due to the adverse weather. The vehicle was not in service and the driver was uninjured.

Stagecoach have advised that all routes are suffering from delays. Further delays are expected later in the day, with some routes potentially cancelled. Services in Inverkeithing and Rosyth are currently delayed due to heavy traffic approaching the Forth Road Bridge.

The bus operators added that the Valleyfield bypass is closed due to fallen tree, with buses diverting via Culross in both directions. A fallen tree has also closed the main access road to North Queensferry, as a result service 89 will terminate at Ferrytoll under further notice.

Service 79 to Kelty, is currently diverting away from Kelty Cross due to falling debris, and services 17, 17b, 18 and 56 are currently being diverted via North Road, Kelty, due to a fallen chimney in Main Street, Kelty.

NHS Fife is advising patients to travel to appointments today only if they feel it is safe to do so. Services across hospitals are running as normal, but patients with appointments today are advised to follow all travel advice. Anyone who does attend an appointment will be seen.

Members of the public who decide not to attend should advise the department they have an appointment with, using the phone number on their appointment letter. Appointments will then be rescheduled.

Commuters are likely to face severe delays and disruption this afternoon as the result of anticipated high winds gusting to more than 75 mph across the area.

The Met Office has issued a 'Red' warning - the highest level warning which is typically only issued once or twice a year - with the peak danger times between 3pm and 6pm.

The Scottish Government has advised that a sensible option would be for people to leave work early, or work from home if possible, in order to reduce the risk of delays.

In addition, the Met Office has warned that during this afternoon showers will turn back to snow over higher ground at first but down to lower levels during the evening.

Head of road policing, Chief Inspector Davie McCulloch, said, "Travel conditions are forecast to be very difficult on Thursday afternoon and I would urge all drivers to take extra care and only travel if necessary.

"Given that winds are expected to be between 75 mph and possibly even up to 90 mph, there is a very high risk that both the Forth and Tay Road bridges will be forced to close, with a consequent impact of congestion on all main routes such as the A985 as traffic diverts across the Kincardine Bridge.

"Drivers should prepare to be delayed and are advised to ensure they have sufficient fuel for an extended journey, spare clothing and a fully-charged mobile phone to hand."

Before setting out, drivers may find it useful to check websites such as the

Met Office at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_warnings.html ;

Transport Scotland at http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/news/severe-weather-warning and

Fife Constabulary at http://www.fife.police.uk

Share your stories of disruption caused by the weather - leave a comment below.

This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 08 Dec 11

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