Tolls on Road Bridgs end

The SNP does something:

Tolls removed from Scots bridges
BBC News – Feb 11, 2008

Tolls have been officially abolished on the Forth and Tay road bridges after years of campaigning by drivers.

The final fee-paying motorists crossed the bridges at midnight before the charges, of £1 on the Forth Bridge and 80p on the Tay Bridge, were lifted.

Scrapping of the tolls was a major manifesto commitment by the SNP during the 2007 Scottish elections.

Legislation to remove the fee was given royal assent last month. It means Scotland now has no chargeable roads.

Funding for both bridges will now be provided entirely by the Scottish Government.

Supermarket worker Lorraine Cleverley was the first driver to cross the Forth Road Bridge after the tolls were abolished.

She said: “The guy came up and said I was the first person to cross. I thought ‘wow, it makes it well worth going into work today’.”

A few minutes before midnight, student Ashley Gregor was the last driver to pay on the Tay bridge.

She said: “It’s brilliant because sometimes I can pay two or three times a day just going back and forward to university, so I think it’s great”.

Gordon Struthers was the first motorist to drive without paying on the Tay bridge.

He said: “It’s the end of an era really. I’ve been paying 80p to go across the bridge for 10 years now, two or three times a day, so it feels amazing to get across for free.”

Heavy Winds on Tay Bridge

The stormy weather has caused travel disruption across Scotland.

Restrictions were in place on the Tay and Erskine bridges, and further north there were also warnings on the Skye and Kessock bridges. Central Scotland Police are advising people to avoid the area. …

Travellers have been advised to check with individual companies before they start their journey.

Winds reached 80mph on the Tay Bridge on Thursday morning and 70mph gusts are forecast for the west coast and the Northern Isles.

Severe gales, storm-force northerly winds and snow showers are expected later, especially in north and west Scotland.

High winds cause travel problems
BBC News – Jan 31, 2008

Body washed up

Funeral for student washed ashore
BBC News – Dec 7, 2007

The funeral is to take place of a Dundee University student whose body was washed ashore in the city after he had been missing for almost a month.

The body of Kyle McEwan, 19, was found on 28 November, four weeks after he vanished while on a night out.Following his disappearance, detectives at Tayside Police had focused their investigations on the Tay Road Bridge, where CCTV footage showed a man matching Kyle’s description at about 0300 GMT on 28 October.

Lampost collapse

Interesting lampost problem caused by high winds.

Bridge lampposts to be examined
Evening Telegraph – Jan 15, 2007

Accidents on Bridge

Many people died in industrial accidents in building the Rail bridge. Working on bridges is still dangerous as this news earlier this year shows:

Delay after two bridge accidents
BBC News – Aug 3, 2007
A 41-year-old contractor was winched to safety from scaffolding under the crossing on Wednesday.

He was hurt by a high-pressure hose, and needed surgery on his left leg at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said that an identical accident happened less than a week before, on Thursday, 26 July.

An investigation is under way into both accidents and an HSE spokesman confirmed that they were being linked.

Speaking to the BBC Scotland news website, he said: “There was an identical accident last Thursday.

“The same type of equipment was being used and both people are seriously injured.

“We are talking about very powerful equipment which is used for blasting rust.

“The principal contractor has voluntarily agreed to stop work, so we have not had to take any formal action.

“There are plans for specialist inspectors to visit the site and they will be looking at systems of work, at the equipment, and the training.”

Work to replace bearings on the bridge, which support the road surface, started two years ago and was scheduled to finish in November.

There have been worries the bridge will not be maintained.

Union warns on bridge maintenance
Evening Telegraph – May 25, 2007