THE FORTH Estuary Transport Authority board has praised bridgemaster Alastair Andrew and his staff for setting industry-leading standards of maintenance and inspection on the Forth road bridge.

FETA engineers discovered corrosion inside the bridge’s main cables during an inspection in 2004 and are now forging ahead with a programme of high-tech measures to address the problem.

In light of their findings the operators of England’s Severn and Humber suspension bridges have also ordered similar inspections to be carried out.

It has now been revealed that the level of corrosion in the Severn bridge’s cables is worse than at the Forth’s.

FETA board chairman and Edinburgh city councillor Lawrence Marshall said, “We are lucky to have some of the best engineering talent in the world looking after the Forth road bridge.

“Had it not been for FETA’s proactive investigation, serious corrosion would have gone unchecked, not just at the Forth, but also at the Severn.

“We’ve now given ourselves and the other UK bridges a chance of halting the corrosion before the cable strength drops to a level where permanent loading restrictions have to be applied.

“It’s also worth noting that the Forth road bridge’s high standards have been made possible with revenue generated by the £1 toll, so perhaps we’re not getting too bad a deal compared with the Severn at £4.90 and the Humber at £2.70 each way.”

Fife councillor Mike Rumney said, “The engineers and maintenance staff at FETA have done a magnificent job and I’m pleased that this is now being recognised around the UK and internationally.

“What most people probably don’t realise is the sheer amount of work required to inspect and maintain a structure of this scale.

“The bridge isn’t getting any younger and maintenance requirements are increasing year on year.

“Almost all of this work is carried out overnight or at weekends in order to keep the traffic flowing and minimise disruption to commuters.

“A second crossing with provision for public transport is the only long-term solution, but there’s no doubt the existing bridge is in safe hands.”

After the inspection of the main cables, FETA engineers have warned that unless they can halt the corrosion the bridge could be closed to heavy goods vehicles by 2014.

A dehumidification system is being installed in an attempt to dry out the cables and prevent any further corrosion.

An acoustic monitoring system has also been fitted to detect any new wire breaks among the 11,618 individual steel wires that make up the main cables.