By Aileen Robertson

MOTORISTS COULD be hit with £11 tolls if private finance is used to build a new bridge over the Forth, an action group has claimed.

Forth Tunnel Action Group (ForthTAG) has been campaigning for a tunnel, and not a suspension bridge, to be built over the estuary now that Scottish ministers have given the go-ahead for £1 billion crossing.

The group has argued that a tunnel would be cheaper, would take less time to construct and would have less of an impact on the environment.

Heading ForthTAG is retired civil engineer John Carson, who led the team which built the Skye Bridge and assisted in the privatisation of the London Underground.

Mr Carson attacked findings of a report outlining options for a new crossing prepared by government agency Transport Scotland and accused the Scottish Executive of paving the way for an expensive solution, which would result in unaffordable tolls and effectively a congestion charge for commuters.

He said, “This report is based on cutting traffic volumes to a 2001 level and maintaining them at that level until 2022.

“It’s simple economics. If you raise the price, people won’t buy it. They proved that in London. The only way to keep people off the roads in London was to impose a congestion charge.”

Mr Carson predicted tolls of over £11 if a bridge was built using PPP funding. He said he had worked the figure out drawing from his 15-year experience of working with privately financed projects.

He has also questioned Transport Scotland’s favoured option for building a tunnel, if that option is agreed.

The report rejects the idea of an immersed tube tunnel, which would be built in segments then sunk into place, in favour of a bored tunnel because the former would cause environmental problems.

“The geology in the area is problematic and may cause problems for bored tunnelling methods,” said Mr Carson.

Mr Carson added that an immersed tube tunnel could be built for half the Scottish Executive’s £1 billion crossing budget.

Mr Carson recently put his case to South Queensferry residents, where he claims 80% are in favour of the tunnel option.

On Tuesday, April 17, he will speak to North Queensferry residents about his campaign. The meeting, at Deep Sea World at 7pm, is open to the public.

ForthTAG’s suggested route for the tunnel, which can be viewed at www.forthtag.co.uk, runs from Pattiesmuir to the M9 east of Linlithgow.