The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New £100,000 vehicle should make bridge breakdowns bearable
Public now have a chance on social media to name new addition
Tay Road Bridge bosses have splashed the cash on a new £100,000 specialist breakdown safety vehicle.
The impact protection vehicle (IPV), a highly visible traffic management unit, is designed to help manage bridge closures and recovery risks on the route.
Motorists will have access to the service free of charge, with bosses saying it will safely block any stranded vehicle until specialist third party recoveries arrive.
Tay Road Bridge manager Alan Hutchison said: “We get about 60 breakdowns a year and until now we have been using a spectacle lift recovery, but with the plethora of vehicles on the road now, it just wasn’t versatile enough.
“We were getting vehicles that we couldn’t recover and we had to just cone them in – I thought that was too great a risk to the public.
“It can be really scary to break down on the bridge so this will help improve public safety and reduce bridge closure times by allowing specialists to come in and clear away any vehicles or debris far more safely and quickly.”
Motorists travelling north on the route will be taken to the bridge’s administration office in Marina Parade, while those travelling southbound will be taken to the Fife car park on the other side.
The IPV was bought with the agreement of the Tay Bridge Joint Board and staff have already begun suggesting names for the new addition.
The Tay Road Bridge Twitter account will be hosting a poll for the public to vote on the shortlist over the next few weeks, with the winner expected to be announced soon.
Yvonne Rice, one of a group of specially-trained staff able to drive the vehicle, revealed she had already been out on a breakdown involving a bus, where passengers were more than relieved to have the extra security.
“They were really pleased to have us there keeping them safe and knowing nobody was going to be driving into the back of them,” she said. “No one wants to see the bridge closed, especially with the new V&A opening and everything we’ve got going on in the city, so I think it will really help with that.”
Motorists have been advised to always wait inside their vehicle until recovery arrives.
We were getting vehicles that we couldn’t recover and we had to just cone them in – I thought that was too great a risk to the public. ALAN HUTCHISON TAY ROAD BRIDGE MANAGER