DRIVERS HEADING north across the Forth Road Bridge this weekend can breathe a sigh of relief as planned road works have been postponed because of the poor weather forecast.

Bridge management confirmed yesterday they had decided to pull the plug on starting a £100,000 project to create a new bus lane at the Fife end of the crossing.

Officials at the Forth Estuary Transport Authority had warned drivers to expect major delays at the weekend as a single-lane contraflow was to have been put in place.

However, the Met Office has warned the bridge is likely to be lashed by gales over the weekend so the work has been put back for a fortnight.

The plan is to build a bus lane from the bus stop at the north end of the bridge to improve passenger safety.

Bus drivers using the stop have trouble getting back into the steady stream of traffic coming off the bridge.

The new lane will give them time to gather speed before rejoining the A90.

The work should have started at 7 pm last night with northbound traffic restricted to a single lane throughout the weekend.

Bridgemaster Barry Colford said, “The Met Office have expressed a high level of confidence that the Forth Road Bridge will experience gusts of up to 60 mph this weekend.”