By Lars Niven

A FIFE MSP has demanded to know why an articulated lorry was allowed to cross the Forth Road Bridge during yesterday morning’s gale force winds.

The HGV got caught by a freak gust and was blown onto the central reservation blocking the northbound carriageway for almost five hours.

It caused mayhem for commuters during the morning rush hour with many major cross-Forth routes brought to a virtual standstill.

Traffic heading south across the bridge was also reduced to single file as the lorry had tipped over far enough to impede the opposite carriageway.

Some motorists took more than four hours to reach their destinations as tens of thousands of drivers were diverted via Kincardine and Stirling.

Helen Eadie, who represents Dunfermline East, has called on Scottish Government ministers to carry out an urgent inquiry into what went wrong.

The Labour MSP got caught up in the chaos as she headed for the Scottish Parliament and said east central Scotland had been brought to a “standstill.”

“I left the house this morning just after 7.30 am and arrived at the Parliament shortly before 11.45 am,” she told The Courier.

“I know from listening to the radio that chaos ensued for drivers on all of the approach roads to both the Kincardine and Forth bridges.

“It must have left everyone shocked, angry and dismayed that this could be allowed to happen.”

Mrs Eadie questioned the wisdom of building a second road bridge at Queensferry given the current bridge’s recent closures even though the Scottish Government said traffic on the new bridge will be protected from the wind.

However, Mrs Eadie said, “I am coming round to the view that the Government is wrong to have chosen the option of a bridge instead of a tunnel.

“I argued with them before on this issue and they won their arguments at the time, but I believe we shall all come to rue the day.

“The reason given by the Scottish Government was the feared dangers for the freight industry cargo.

“We have major tunnels in other parts of the world including between Denmark and Sweden, a 10-mile project comprising part bridge and part tunnel.”

Officials at the Forth Estuary Transport Authority confirmed yesterday there was no ban on high-sided vehicles when the accident happened.

However, a spokesman for FETA insisted the wind levels at the time were within the safety margins and were gusting at no more than 50 miles per hour.

Once they go above that, restrictions on high-sided vehicles, caravans, motorhomes and motor- cycles are automatically barred from the crossing.

The bridge had been closed to high-sided vehicles during the night, but the restriction was lifted at 4.45am when the wind died down.

During the next hour average winds dropped to around 26mph.

At 6am there was a sudden increase in wind speed.

Bridge controllers immediately changed the signs and closed the tolls to high-sided vehicles, but the last lorry to go through at 6.01am was hit by a 68mph gust halfway across the bridge.

“The winds we were recording were below 50mph, which is the normal level we would start diverting high sided vehicles,” the spokesman said.

“But as the vehicle crossed the bridge there was a freak gust of 68mph.

“The trailer of the articulated lorry was empty so it was just blown across the central reservation.

“That’s why we had to close one lane southbound as well.”

The incident began just after 6am when the truck which was towing an empty trailer was blown onto its side.

The driver escaped unhurt.

Within minutes of the crash, vehicles heading for Fife were halted at the toll booths at South Queensferry.

Drivers were forced to sit for more than 30 minutes until the police arrived, at which point traffic was diverted via Kincardine.

As the commute got under way in earnest there were problems on every major route to and from the Kincardine Bridge.

On the south side vehicles were backed up onto the M9 beyond Linlithgow and on the north side for several miles back past the Gartarry roundabout on the A977 and through the Devilla Forest on the A985 on the eastern approaches.

Vehicles heading southwards over the bridge were forced into one lane which led to huge tailbacks on the M90.

At its worst the queue stretched beyond Junction 3 at Halbeath on the eastern outskirts of Dunfermline.

It all made for a miserable start to the day for commuters.

Many of those who could turned round and took the train instead and the car park and surrounding streets at Dalmeny railway station were jam-packed.

The Forth Road Bridge did not fully reopen until just before 11am, shortly after the recovery team pulled the trailer clear.

Earlier attempts were hampered by the high winds and FETA said it was simply not safe to move the articulated lorry any earlier.

Barry Colford, FETA’s deputy general manager, said, “This morning’s incident looks to have been a straightforward case of bad luck.

“Because of the speed at which the weather changed there is little that could have been done to prevent it happening, but praise is due to the recovery team for their prompt and efficient response.

“No blame is attached to the driver, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and I’m pleased he was able to walk away without serious injury.”

He added, “I’m pleased that the new Forth crossing is to incorporate wind-shielding, as this technology has been proven to prevent incidents such as these.”