Forth Estuary Transport Authority

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The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) was the authority responsible for the maintenance of the Forth Road Bridge over the Firth of Forth in eastern central Scotland. FETA was created in 2001 by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 - to replace the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board.

Contents

Remit

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority was formed in 2001, with a wider remit than the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board it replaced. It was able to fund road and public transport improvements to aide crossing the Firth of Forth, and its new powers permitted it to include the use of routes other than the Forth Road Bridge, such as using the Firth of Forth itself for hovercraft services between Fife and Lothian. [1]

Organisation

The board of FETA had ten members, allocated as follows:

History of significant operations

The Forth Road Bridge underwent a comprehensive structural survey between 2003 and 2005 after suspension bridges of similar design and age in the United States were found to be suffering from corrosion in their main suspension cables. [2] The survey results showed significant corrosion and an accompanying loss in strength of between 8 and 10% in the cables on the Forth Bridge. [3]

The rate of corrosion and weakening of the main cables would have required the bridge to close to HGV traffic some time around 2014 and then close to all traffic by 2019, so plans were drawn up to build a replacement crossing, to run parallel to the existing road bridge between Lothian and Fife. [4] Dehumidification equipment was installed to remove moisture from the inside of the main suspension cables, in an attempt to slow or halt the corrosion, but with no guarantee of success, the Forth Estuary Transport Authority and Scottish Government were left with no option but to plan the construction of a new crossing. [5] [6]

Dehumidification work on the Forth Road Bridge was successful in halting the corrosion of the main cables, so there is now no requirement to close the existing Forth Road Bridge to traffic. [7] [8] The Forth Road Bridge will, as a result, be incorporated into the road network alongside the new bridge, the Queensferry Crossing, and will provide a dedicated public transport crossing, remaining available as a diversionary route in the event the new bridge has to be closed. [9]

Closure

The Scottish Government put out to tender a contract for the operation and maintenance of the existing road bridge and new Queensferry Crossing (the rail bridge remaining under the ownership and control of Network Rail). The successful bidder was Amey plc who would take over maintenance work in 2015. [10] [11]

The Forth Bridges Operating Company (the legal title for the incoming private operator) inherited staff from the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, and transferred over under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. [10] The Forth Bridges Operating Company will then be responsible for the maintenance of the Forth Road Bridge, the Queensferry Crossing and the approach roads to the north and south; the M90 from Junction 3, Halbeath, through to Junction 1A, Kirkliston. [10]

The Forth Estuary Transport Authority was disbanded on 31 May 2015. [12]

Related Research Articles

Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more often refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to fjord, which has a more constrained sense in English. Bodies of water named "firths" tend to be more common on the Scottish east coast, or in the southwest of the country, although the Firth of Clyde is an exception to this. The Highland coast contains numerous estuaries, straits, and inlets of a similar kind, but not called "firth" ; instead, these are often called sea lochs. Before about 1850, the spelling "Frith" was more common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firth of Forth</span> Estuary of Scotlands River Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forth Road Bridge</span> Suspension bridge spanning the Firth of Forth in east-central Scotland

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry. It replaced a centuries-old ferry service to carry vehicular traffic, cyclists and pedestrians across the Forth; railway crossings are made by the nearby Forth Bridge, opened in 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Queensferry</span> Human settlement in Scotland

North Queensferry is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland, situated on the Firth of Forth, 9 mi (14 km) from Edinburgh city centre. Located on the North Queensferry Peninsula, it is the southernmost settlement in Fife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Queensferry</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is now administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. It lies ten miles to the north-west of Edinburgh city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge, Forth Road Bridge and the Queensferry Crossing. The prefix South serves to distinguish it from North Queensferry, on the opposite shore of the Forth. Both towns derive their name from the ferry service established by Queen Margaret in the 11th century, which continued to operate at the town until 1964, when the Road Bridge was opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A90 road</span> Road in Scotland between Edinburgh and Fraserburgh via Dundee and Aberdeen

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Forth</span> River in central Scotland

The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, 47 km (29 mi) long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of the river, above Stirling, is Abhainn Dubh, meaning "black river". The name for the river below the tidal reach is Uisge For.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M90 motorway</span> Motorway in Scotland

The M90 is a motorway in Scotland. It runs from Junction 1A of the M9 motorway, south of the Queensferry Crossing, to Perth. It is the northernmost motorway in the United Kingdom. The northern point goes to the western suburbs of Perth at Broxden. A small part of the M90 was originally numbered as the M85 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inchgarvie</span> Uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland

Inchgarvie or Inch Garvie is a small, uninhabited island in the Firth of Forth. On the rocks around the island sit four caissons that make up the foundations of the Forth Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fife Circle Line</span> Railway line in Eastern Scotland, UK

The Fife Circle Line is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh. Operationally, the service is not strictly a circle route, but, rather, a point to point service that reverses at the Edinburgh end, and has a large bi-directional balloon loop at the Fife end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cramond Island</span> Tidal island in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland

Cramond Island is one of several islands in the Firth of Forth in eastern Scotland, near Edinburgh. It lies off the foreshore at Cramond. It is 13 mile (0.54 km) long and covers 19.03 acres (7.70 ha). The island is part of the Dalmeny Estate, owned by the Rosebery Estates Partnership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Edinburgh</span> Overview of the transport system in Edinburgh

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The B800 is a short road in eastern Scotland, connecting the Forth Road Bridge to Kirkliston. It is a two-way single carriageway road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clackmannanshire Bridge</span> Bridge in Fife , Falkirk

The Clackmannanshire Bridge is a road bridge over the Firth of Forth in Scotland which opened to traffic on 19 November 2008. Prior to 1 October 2008 the bridge was referred to as the upper Forth crossing while the name was chosen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensferry Crossing</span> Road bridge across the Firth of Forth, Scotland

The Queensferry Crossing is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Bridge. It carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forth Bridge</span> Railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in Scotland

The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, 9 miles west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was designed by English engineers Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker. It is sometimes referred to as the Forth Rail Bridge, although this is not its official name.

The Firth of Forth was historically crossed by ferry until the opening of the Forth Road Bridge in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Chain Pier</span>

Trinity Chain Pier, originally called Trinity Pier of Suspension, was built in Trinity, Edinburgh, Scotland in 1821. The pier was designed by Samuel Brown, a pioneer of chains and suspension bridges. It was intended to serve ferry traffic on the routes between Edinburgh and the smaller ports around the Firth of Forth, and was built during a time of rapid technological advance. It was well used for its original purpose for less than twenty years before traffic was attracted to newly developed nearby ports, and it was mainly used for most of its life for sea bathing. It was destroyed by a storm in 1898; a building at the shore end survives, much reconstructed, as a pub and restaurant called the Old Chain Pier.

The Dunfermline and Queensferry Railway was a railway company founded to form part of a rail and ferry route between Dunfermline and Edinburgh, in Scotland. It was authorised in 1873 and its promoters had obtained informal promises from the larger North British Railway that the NBR would provide financial help, and also operate the ferry and the necessary railway on the southern side of the Firth of Forth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loony Dook</span>

The Loony Dook is an annual event held on New Year's Day in which people dive into the freezing waters of the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry, often in fancy dress.

References

  1. "New Forth body will bridge gap, MSPs told". The Scotsman . Johnston Press. 14 February 2002. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  2. Sparks, Alan (11 December 2003). "Corrosion fears prompt Forth Road Bridge cable probe". New Civil Engineer . London: Emap International Limited . Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  3. Kitching, Ruby (19 June 2008). "Corrosion reduces strength of Forth Road Bridge cables by 10%". New Civil Engineer . London: Emap International Limited . Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  4. "Forth Road Bridge closure warning". BBC News . BBC. 17 November 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  5. "Forth bridge dry-out starts 2007". BBC News . BBC. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  6. "Forth crossing options go public". BBC News . BBC. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  7. "Forth Road Bridge: Cable corrosion problems 'resolved'". BBC News . BBC. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  8. Lynch, Declan (28 February 2013). "Dehumidifiers slow Forth Road Bridge cable corrosion". New Civil Engineer . London: Emap International Limited . Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  9. "£112m to make Forth Road Bridge 'world's most expensive bus lane'". The Scotsman . Edinburgh: Johnston Press. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 "Forth Bridges Special Project". Transport Scotland . Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  11. McCann, David (20 November 2013). "Three firms vie for £60m Forth bridges contract". Edinburgh Evening News . Johnston Press. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  12. "Annual audit report to Treasurer and the Controller of Audit" (PDF). Retrieved 14 August 2023.