Avictimof over-optimism

Sir, - What should we make of the decision to close the Queensferry Crossing to southbound traffic from Thursday for an essential repair (Courier, November 28)?

It now appears that those who said that the project could be completed by the end of 2016 were ludicrously optimistic.

In fact during that year I felt that the Scottish Government would press for a St Andrews Day opening in a fanfare of publicity.

It now appears that St Andrews Day 2017 would have been a more realistic timescale.

However, I don’t think MSPs Murdo Fraser and Alex Cole-Hamilton, who have been among those most strident and vocal in their criticism, can moan too hard about this.

They were as culpable as anyone in pressing for information about a completion date.

This matter has become a political football for too long, virtually ever since the venture started.

With the benefit of that most exact science – hindsight – it would have been much better if the politicians had simply left this to the engineers.

Nevertheless, we should still take enormous pride in this marvellous feat of construction.

Meanwhile, we can only hope that by the turn of the year both road bridges are helping achieve something close to an optimal traffic flow. Bob Taylor. 24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.