The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Council tots up bill for Forth Bridge closure costs
GOVERNMENT: Compensation claim will be sent to Transport Scotland
The Scottish Government could be slapped with a compensation bill running into hundreds of thousands of pounds for damage caused during the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.
Fife Council is in the process of totting up the costs it incurred while the bridge was closed to all traffic for 19 days in December.
Officers are also considering how much it would cost to fix potholes and cracks in roads caused by the high volume of traffic diverted through the region as a result of the crisis.
Once the full impact is established the bill will be presented to national transport agency Transport Scotland.
The government agency is expected to dismiss any attempt to claw back the funds however, insisting Fife’s help had been provided in order to keep Scotland moving.
Councillors have claimed that villages in west Fife have been left in tatters with roads the consistency of porridge due to the thousands of extra vehicles using them each day.
Last month people in Rosyth said they were living a nightmare with nose to tail HGVs clogging up the town’s streets, polluting the atmosphere and damaging roads and houses.
The council’s transportation spokesman, Councillor Pat Callaghan, confirmed the service intends to submit a claim to Transport Scotland as soon as the total bill is known.
Included will be the cost of deploying staff and other resources to cope with the bridge closure.
He said the involvement of west Fife councillors in identifying damage would be “incalculable and invaluable”.
“We were asked at the very first meeting we had when the bridge was closed to do a cost capture exercise to ensure everything was taken into account,” he said.
“There is a standard we have maintained the council’s roads at and anything below that standard we will be claiming for.”
Councillor Helen Law, who lives in Steelend, said: “The villages have been left in tatters.
“It’s an absolute disgrace. Outside my house I would describe the roads as being like porridge.”
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: “We very much appreciate the efforts of Fife Council and other neighbouring local authorities to help mitigate the impact of the closure of the Forth Road Bridge.
“This is a good example of commuters benefiting from close working relationships and mutual assistance being offered between local authorities and Transport Scotland.”