A new Forth crossing

Bridges must be built on solid foundations. With some notable exceptions, Scotland has a long and impressive tradition of building bridge that stand the test of time and the elements. But nothing lasts forever and a predicted date of 2019 for wear and tear making the Forth Road Bridge unfit for vehicle traffic led to the Scottish Government announcing yesterday that a replacement structure would be built to the west of the existing crossing at a cost of up to £4.2bn. In the face of the current bridge's expected decrepitude, John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, concluded that doing nothing was not an option.