The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Call for bridge to reopen rebuffed by ministers
Flag-waving parade of cars contributed to delays on new crossing, MSPs are told
The Transport Minister has knocked back a plan to ease traffic on Queensferry Crossing by reopening the old bridge.
Humza Yousaf said a parade of motorists displaying flags, vintage car convoys and motorcycle groups contributed to delays on the new £1.35bn structure at the weekend.
The bridge has been beset by congestion since it opened on August 30, with delays widely attributed to sightseers wanting to experience the crossing early.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Lib Dem MSP, called on ministers to halt repairs on the Forth Road Bridge and reopen it. He said it should be used by buses and taxis as a “release valve” if the new bridge becomes clogged up again.
Mr Yousaf said there were “difficulties” with Mr Cole-Hamilton’s suggestion.
“I think it is important that we see how this week progresses and indeed the weekend, where there may well be a spike in tourist traffic,” he told MSPs in a ministerial statement.
“Deferring (repairs) is not something I want to do.”
He said it was hoped maintenance on the old bridge would be completed within four weeks, allowing both structures to have a role in carrying traffic by mid-October.
Transport Scotland has been trying to resolve the traffic problems by installing signs to encourage drivers on the Queensferry to use the full length of the slip-road to merge into traffic. The agency is also looking to fast-track a higher speed limit from 40mph to 50mph.
The older bridge is closed to traffic as maintenance work is carried out. Once completed the 1960s bridge will reopen to public transport only. Cyclists and pedestrians can still use it throughout.
Opposition MSPs called for a review of traffic modelling amid suggestions bosses had failed to predict the “tourist” effect, which is blamed for Sunday’s gridlock.
Liz Smith, the Scottish Conservative MSP, expressed disappointment that the Scottish Government did not anticipate increased demand through traffic modelling, adding they could have “been more dynamic in dealing with this situation”.
Mr Yousaf said: “We had vintage vehicles choosing that Sunday in particular to go across, we had motorcycle groups choosing to go across, we had cars displaying large flags in a parade-type of fashion choosing to go across on the Sunday.
“There is only so much modelling you can do to capture that.
“Where we can review that, where we can look at that to make it even more accurate then of course we will, but it was anticipated that in the first few weeks of the Queensferry Crossing being open that there will be a surge in traffic.”