The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Regions’ road bridges are ‘sub-standard’
Huge investment is required in Fife and Perth and Kinross
Road bridges across Perth and Kinross and Fife have been branded “substandard” with concerns raised over how long they can remain in use without major investment.
Concerns have been raised about more than 3,000 council-maintained road bridges across Great Britain, but those in the two areas are among the worst affected.
Council officials, alongside those at other cash strapped local authorities, have been forced to let the structures deteriorate in the face of crippling budget cuts.
The result is a repair backlog running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
Data collected by the RAC Foundation found that 3,203 structures – about one in 23 – over 1.5m in span are no longer fit to carry the heaviest vehicles.
Many of these bridges have weight restrictions. Others will be under programmes of increased monitoring or even managed decline.
Perth and Kinross, Fife, Stirling, Falkirk and Aberdeenshire have been identified as among the 10 Scottish councils with the highest proportion of sub-standard road bridges.
The one-off cost of bringing all the sub-standard bridges back up to perfect condition would be around £890 million, the equivalent of £278,000 per structure.
The total cost of clearing the backlog of work on all bridges – including those that are sub-standard – is estimated at £3.9 billion.
Fife Council’s Murray Scott said: “Our rolling programme of bridge works was approved by the council in May 2016, setting out the priority bridge works programme until 2025 with investment totalling £10m. The same report highlighted the need for continued investment to fund bridge strengthening works and the approved 2017 budget allocated a further £2.7m for priority strengthening schemes.”
In Perth and Kinross, the challenge facing the council has not been helped by accident and storm damage.
Significant sums will have to be spent restoring the historic Allt A’Mhoirneas crossing, near Killin, which was left damaged after a crash and a £1m repair job at Bleaton Hallet, Alyth, has just been completed after the bridge was badly damaged by floods.
A spokeswoman said: “While Perth and Kinross Council recognise that a number of bridges have been identified as being ‘sub-standard’ we can confirm that these are either signed with a weight restriction, or are subject to an enhanced monitoring regime to ensure that they are safe for use and that there is no risk to the travelling public.”
Our rolling programme of bridge works was approved by the council in May 2016, setting out the priority bridge works programme until 2025 with investment totalling £10m MURRAY SCOTT FIFE COUNCIL