The Scottish Parliament and Scottish Parliament Infor mation C entre l ogos. SPICe Briefing Closure of the Forth Road Bridge 22 January 2016 16/09 Alan Rehfisch The Forth Road Bridge (FRB) was temporarily closed to all traffic at midnight on 3 December 2015, on the advice of specialist bridge engineers, after the discovery of defective steelwork. Following a series of temporary repairs, the FRB re-opened to traffic, except HGVs and abnormal loads, on 23 December 2015. This briefing outlines the history of the FRB, how it has been managed, funding for bridge operations and looks in more detail at the events leading up to its temporary closure. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE ..................................................................... 3 HISTORY OF THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE ............................................................................................................... 4 INCREASE IN TRAFFIC LOADING AND TRAFFIC GROWTH ON THE FRB .......................................................... 4 SUSPENSION BRIDGE DESIGN AND THE CLOSURE OF THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE ...................................... 5 FETA PROPOSALS TO REPAIR/REPLACE THE TRUSS END LINKAGES ............................................................ 8 BRIDGE TOLLING REGIME ...................................................................................................................................... 13 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT GRANT FUNDING ....................................................................................................... 14 SOURCES .................................................................................................................................................................. 16 RELATED BRIEFINGS .............................................................................................................................................. 18 2 INTRODUCTION The Forth Road Bridge (FRB) is a long span suspension bridge that crosses the Firth of Forth some 15km west of Edinburgh. It is a vital link in Scotland's strategic road network used by over 24 million vehicles per year. The bridge and its approach viaducts, which carry a two lane dual carriageway plus cycle/foot paths, are 2,517 metres long. The suspension bridge itself is 1,822 metres long, making it the second longest single span suspension bridge in the UK after the Humber Bridge. When it opened in September 1964 the FRB was the fourth longest span bridge in the world and the first long span suspension bridge to be built outside of the United States. The FRB is currently the 28th longest span suspension bridge in the world. OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE The FRB has been owned and managed by three separate organisations, as set out below: Forth Road Bridge Joint Board: The construction and management of the Forth Road Bridge was overseen by the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board (FRBJB), established under the provisions of the Forth Road Bridge Order Confirmation Act 1947. The FRJB retained responsibility for the management and maintenance of the FRB until 1 April 2002. On that date the Joint Board was dissolved. Forth Estuary Transport Authority: On 1 April 2002 the assets, liabilities and responsibilities of the FRJB were passed to the newly created Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) which was created under the provisions of the Forth Estuary Transport Order 2002. FETA was established with a broader remit than the FRBJB, allowing it to spend money on public transport and other initiatives aimed at improving cross-Forth travel and reducing congestion on the Forth Road Bridge as well as focusing on Bridge maintenance and operation. The then Scottish Executive outlined the reasons behind the establishment of FETA in a press release issued in January 2002, which stated: "The creation of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority marks a significant step forward in our efforts to tackle congestion on the Forth Road Bridge and to improve travel across the Forth. While maintenance of the bridge will remain a top priority, the Authority will also be able to use revenues to fund public transport alternatives, road works, traffic management measures and other schemes it feels will bring real benefits to bridge users.” FETA was a joint board made up of councillors from four local authorities, namely: City of Edinburgh Council 4 members Fife Council 4 members Perth & Kinross Council 1 member West Lothian Council 1 member FETA was formally wound up, under the provisions of the Forth Road Bridge Act 2013, on 1 June 2015. Scottish Ministers: On 1 June 2015 the assets, liabilities and responsibilities of FETA were passed to Scottish Ministers, under the provisions of the Forth Road Bridge Act 2013. Transport Scotland, acting on behalf of Scottish Ministers, contracted out the day-to-day 3 management and maintenance of the FRB to Amey, which was the successful bidder for a five year long management and maintenance contract. This contract also began on 1 June 2015. HISTORY OF THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE The Forth Road Bridge was designed, and the construction supervised, by two firms of Consulting Engineers, Messrs. Mott Hay and Anderson and Sir Freeman Fox and Partners. The bridge was built by a consortium, known as the ACD group, which involved Sir William Arrol & Company, The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and Dorman Long (Bridge and Engineering). The cost of constructing the bridge and approach viaducts was £11.5m. The total cost of the construction of the bridge project, 1964/5 cash price, including eight miles of dual carriageway on the approaches, a further eight miles of minor roads and 24 other minor bridges, was £19.5m. Several major projects have been carried out on the FRB since it opened in 1964. These projects were required to either replace, strengthen or improve elements of the structure following changes to traffic loading, design codes, a risk assessment of shipping impact and the results of testing of bridge components. The key projects include: Strengthening of viaduct box girders, completed in 1977 Strengthening of main tower wind bracing, completed in 1992 Strengthening of the main towers, completed in 1997 Construction of pier defences, protecting the main towers from damage by shipping, completed in 1998 Replacement of hanger ropes, completed in 2008 Main cable inspection, acoustic monitoring and dehumidification system, the first internal inspection of the main cables was carried out in 2004, followed by the installation of acoustic monitoring equipment in 2006 to monitor wire breakages and the installation of the main cable dehumidification system in 2008/09, the third internal inspection of the main cables was carried out in 2012 Inspection and testing of the main cable anchorages, completed in 2013. INCREASE IN TRAFFIC LOADING AND TRAFFIC GROWTH ON THE FRB The Forth Road Bridge was designed to carry loads specified in British Standard 153, which was based on a convoy of up to five 22 ton vehicles, the heaviest allowed on UK roads at that time, and eight 10 ton vehicles followed by lighter vehicles. Since the opening of the FRB, the maximum UK vehicle weight has been increased several times, as set out below: 1983: 38 tonne articulated vehicles with five axles (with a drive axle maximum weight of 10.5 tonnes); 1999: the allowable weight limit was increased to 40 tonnes on five axles (with the axle weight limit increased to 11.5 tonnes); 1994: six axle 44 tonne vehicles (max drive axle weight of 10.5 tonnes) allowed on a very limited number of UK roads 2001: six axle 44 tonne vehicles were allowed on all UK roads (with a max drive axle weight of 10.5 tonnes). 4 It should be noted that some overweight Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 44 tonnes cross the FRB. Amey monitor vehicle weight and movements using a weigh in motion system located on the north side of the bridge. In addition to the growth in maximum vehicle weights set out above, the amount of traffic using the FRB has increased at a relatively steady rate of 2-3 per cent growth each year, levelling off at around 24 million vehicles per annum in around 2003. Works to strengthen the FRB have been undertaken, as set out above, which have ensured the bridge remains safe to use at all times. However, the increase in vehicle weights and amount of traffic using the bridge is far in excess of that anticipated by its designers, which has an impact on the life expectancy of bridge components and the amount and frequency of maintenance required to ensure continued safe operation. SUSPENSION BRIDGE DESIGN AND THE CLOSURE OF THE FORTH ROAD BRIDGE To understand the nature of the defect that led to the temporary closure of the Forth Road Bridge it is important to understand how a suspension bridge works. This is very briefly explained below. Figure 1: View of the Forth Road Bridge Showing Viaducts, Main Towers, Piers, Main Cables, Hangers, Suspended Span and Roadway Photograph: Forth Road Bridge 5 General principles1: The Forth Road Bridge consists of two main towers, built on concrete piers sunk into the bed of the river Forth, over which two parallel main cables, themselves made up of 11,618 individual wires, are stretched. The ends of these cables are attached to large concrete anchors which are sunk deep into the rock at either end of