Doubts over Forth crossing opening date

BAD weather stopped construction work on the Queensferry Crossing for more than five weeks during the summer.

The revelations have raised fresh doubts that the £1.3 billion bridge will open by its already delayed target date of May next year.

Transport chiefs last night confirmed that adverse weather, mainly high winds, stopped building work on the crossing for a total of 38.5 days between June and September.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown will this week visit the crossing and he’s expected to show off the final sixmetre gap between the centre and south towers being closed.

But 10 of the bridge’s 110 deck units have still to be put in place in vital work which was meant to have been finished by the end of last month.

Now, critics have raised fears the 1.7-mile link, originally due be finished by December, will be delayed again as we approach winter.

Lib Dem Edinburgh Western MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “This revelation is worrying and must surely raise doubts that we are going to hit the revised target of May.”

The Sunday Post first revealed work on vital parts of the new Forth crossing, including its iconic towers, was months behind schedule in December last year.

In June this year we then revealed Transport Scotland was formally warned of the delays in January, with contractors three to four weeks behind schedule at the end of March.

Among the sections of the project still to be completed are the installation of three metre-high wind shield sections, which can only be put on when all the deck units are in place.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “Good progress has been made recently and the project is on schedule to open in May 2017.”