Carnegie reads that, "A TIMETABLE for the construction of the new Forth Bridge has been revealed but there are no guarantees that the bridge – due for completion in 2016 – will be toll free. When asked about tolls at a media briefing in North Queensferry yesterday Alan Seywright, of project consultants Jacobs Arup, said, “We can’t speculate at the moment. We are looking into procurement at the moment.”
Hang on, didn't we just abolish tolls over the Forth and a few years ago buy out the tolls provisions on the Skye Bridge, and yet here we are again facing the prospect of tolls on a new Forth Bridge that hasn't even been built yet. If we have two bridges over the Forth in the same general location, one toll free one not, we will have traffic chaos with most users opting to use the toll free one. One Bridge forward ... one Bridge back.
A new Forth Bridge will be an essential element of Scotland's trunk road network. It should be constructed as such and that means no tolls. You don't pay to drive on the M8. Why pay to drive on a new Forth Bridge?
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