By Aileen Robertson

THE ENGINEERS appointed to design and build the new Forth crossing are confident it will be ready in 2016.

Consultants Jacobs Arup, who have worked on projects including the Channel Tunnel, the Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong and, closer to home, the Upper Forth Crossing, said the deadline was ambitious but possible.

Ground investigations and dialogue with landowners have already started and next month the riverbed will be drilled to test the conditions for securing the bridge’s three towers.

At the end of last year, finance secretary John Swinney announced the new crossing would be a cable-stayed bridge west of the existing road bridge.

It will be linked to the M9 west of Kirkliston and with the A90 and local roads.

Yesterday, Alan Seywright from Jacobs Arup set out the consultants’ timetable for the project, saying feasibility studies and environmental assessments would be completed this year, which would allow the design to be finalised by early next year.

If the design is completed on schedule, the plans would be submitted mid-2009 and would go to tender in 2010-2011. That would allow the five-year construction phase to get under way in 2011.

Mr Seywright said, “It’s very ambitious but I think the organisation and management we have with Transport Scotland are focused to delivering that timetable.”

He said the bridge would be, “Something modern that sits comfortably with the existing bridge and the setting.”

He added, “We’re looking at different ideas for the towers to make sure we add to the attractiveness of the site and don’t detract from the two major structures that are already there.”

One of the factors engineers will have to consider when drawing up the design is the width of the bridge deck, which would have to be considerably wider than that of the existing crossing because of the number of lanes required.

On each side the crossing is expected to have a windshield to protect the structure from extreme weather, a path for pedestrians, a hard shoulder and two traffic lanes. Running down the centre would be a “public transport corridor” for light railway, trams and buses.

However, infrastructure for trams and a light railway does not form part of the project.

Mr Seywright said, “In terms of the public transport corridor, the structure is going to be capable of carrying light rail and trams. We have to leave flexibility for future promotion of such schemes and keep our options as open as possible.”

Although it is almost certain the existing road bridge will be closed at some point, its long-term future is still in question.

Not planning for another bridge could be catastrophic for Fife and the whole of Scotland, in the event of the Forth Road Bridge being shut down as a result of the much documented corrosion in its main cables.

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA), who are in charge of the Forth Road Bridge, estimate that replacing or strengthening the cables could take seven to nine years to complete and the subsequent disruption would have the potential to cost the Scottish economy £1 billion and put thousands of jobs at risk.

But although the new bridge has been dubbed the Forth Replacement Crossing, it is possible the existing bridge could be repaired and re-opened.

FETA bridgemaster Barry Colford recently said the crossing could last for years to come if the cables were repaired. The cost, he said, was likely to be no more than £10 million compared to the £130 million it would cost to demolish the 44-year-old suspension bridge.

Lawrence Shackman from Jacobs Arup said having two crossings up and running at the same time did not mean there would be twice as many lanes of traffic.

He said, “The principal has only ever been to have two lanes for all vehicles whether we have one crossing or two crossings. Any other lanes would be for other modes including high-occupancy vehicles so we would not be encouraging the use of single- occupancy vehicles.”

Meanwhile, how the bridge will be funded will be announced later this year.

Ainslie McLaughlin, head of major transport infrastructure projects for Transport Scotland, said he could not comment on whether or not the bridge would be tolled.

He said, “We can’t speculate at the moment on what the solution would be. We are working on the development and procurement proposal and the government will come forward with that this year.”