Meeting of the Parliament 15 March 2016
No. I need to make progress.
Although, as the minister told the committee,
“It is hard to answer the what-if questions,”—[Official Report, Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee, 24 February 2016; c 47.]
it could be argued that the post-toll regime changed FETA’s role from having a self-contained income generation that could be spent on maintenance to one of governance, where capital spend was a matter for the Scottish Government.
The fact is that there was a clear statement of intent by FETA to replace the truss end links. The authority’s robust maintenance inspection regimes had identified that work was required to the truss end link mechanisms. Had that work been carried out, it may have had a bearing on the closure of the bridge in December 2015. It is impossible to say.
That said, it is a huge relief to have the bridge back in operation and it is a great pleasure to see the new crossing emerging. I am sure that no one wants a repeat of what happened in December, and it is good to know that new equipment is in place to assess the stress on individual components.
I will conclude by once again commending the achievement of the engineers and by again asking that the Government considers the economic impact of the closure and whether some compensation might be provided.