Forth Road Bridge - now in intensive care

[campbell]

IBIS Budget Edinburgh Park. Stay over.

Steel you say? How about buying local. Save a few jobs. FFS.

[james.beaumont1]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35001277

[rossybee]

Crazy idea perhaps, but could they not still allow foot passengers over? Park n ride car parks in fife, busses collect at Sth Queensferry?

Far from ideal, but it's an option to sitting in traffic for Kincardine Bridge, plus FRB-Ed centre roads won't be as busy because of the closure. Or utilise the trams, must be plenty alternatives there with some thought.

Still an utterly awful prospect for thousands regardless....

[mwmackenzie]

Thankfully I've just moved office to Musselburgh as for the past 3 years the Bridge was part of my daily commute to Dunfermline...PHEW!

[steve_weegie]

They'll need a big welding torch for that one....

Thats the anchor between the bottom truss and the main tower!

[mwmackenzie]

They'll need a big welding torch for that one....

Thats the anchor between the bottom truss and the main tower!

Need to sick a box of matches next to it for scale

[BigD]

They'll need a big welding torch for that one....

Thats the anchor between the bottom truss and the main tower!

That looks pretty bad. If it's a severe safety issue then as much as its a pita for a lot of people, I think I'd rather know it wasn't going to fall down.

[steve_weegie]

Need to sick a box of matches next to it for scale

Well,it's not a box of matches, but that's the part in question they're standing on

[Callummarshall]

Jesus, that's some serious material failure! Be interesting to see what caused it from an engineering perspective.

[Super7]

That's incredible!
Anybody in fife who works in Edinburgh should buy a boat, would probably beat a car to leith even if the bridge was open.

[ruadh08]

Extract from the Daily Mash!!!!

THE Forth Road Bridge has been closed after engineers discovered it was well over the safe alcohol limit, it has emerged.

The bridge will remain closed until after Hogmanay in an attempt to get all the booze out of the 8,000ft long bridge’s system.

Engineer Bill McKay said: “We’d noticed it visibly swaying, but we thought that was because of high winds.

“Turns out it’s been beginning the day with Buckfast, necking Tennent’s Super the minute the commuters are gone and onto the single malts by mid-afternoon.

“It’s 51 years old, from Glasgow, deteriorating physically and beginning to wonder if all those years helping people get to Fife were really worthwhile.

“It’d be more surprising if it wasn’t an alcoholic.”

[campbell]

Priceless.

[tut]

80mph winds at Tut End but at least I do not have to contend with 70 miles extra on a journey and an eleven mile queue.

Sympathise with you guys that have to go through that, I go mental on the few times that I have to go in and out of Aberdeen.

tut

[robin]

If anyone needs somewhere to stay in Edinburgh occasionally to mitigate the chaos this will cause I am sure I can find them a bed somewhere in the house - drop me a PM and I'll see what can be done.

Scotrail has little by way of spare rolling stock - remember trains cost serious dollar and having them lying around unused is not good for shareholder value. Of course that makes me a bleating socialist, but so be it. [Actually, I have no idea whether the corporation that owns the rolling stock is even a company of that type!]

They are talking of getting the ferry up and running. That'll take another 10 cars across, leaving just 59,990 to use the long way round route. Frankly you cannot blame Empress Sturgeon for not having a whole lot to offer - there isn't a whole lot they can do - except work round the clock on the other bridge, but I think they were anyway and they are weather limited on assembling the rest of the decking I'll bet.

I know nothing of the damage to the bridge, but the wording of the press announcements makes me think that we'll be lucky if the bridge opens again for full service - they are keeping a lot of options open - and this wind tonight is really not going to help - the expression "Gaping like a Hippo's yawn" springs to mind

[robin]

Jesus, that's some serious material failure! Be interesting to see what caused it from an engineering perspective.

There is a good sketch of the "girders" of the bridge on the BBC site now; I believe this section of the decking is not suspended directly by the cables but rather sits on the "truss"; the traffic banging on the deck would compress the very thing that has fractured, not stretch it; but I know nothing of engineering and metallurgy.

Anyway, if you do think that the hanger should be under compression, but it has failed because of stretch then that tells you that the rest of the decking must be hanging off that truss (which it shouldn't be - it should be hanging off the cables, it's a suspension bridge). So I hope I am a foolish amateur and a bit of gaffer will fix it ... otherwise the bridge ain't ever opening again!

Cheers,
Robin