PROTECTIVE barriers are to be installed on the Forth Road Bridge to cut the risk of vehicles being blown over in strong winds and causing traffic chaos.
The £2 million windshielding scheme is planned for around the crossing's two towers, where the risk of sudden gusts is at its greatest.
Two lorries overturned close to the south tower within six weeks of each other last year, leading to widespread
and lengthy tailbacks while they were recovered.
The Forth Estuary Transport Authority, which runs the bridge, agreed yesterday to the scheme, which will involve vertical slats, tapering up to 14ft high and covering 140ft of the carriageways around the towers.
They would be installed over the next two to three years and are expected be made from a transparent material to minimise the visual impact on the bridge.
The project will require planning approval from both Edinburgh and Fife councils, and also the agreement of Historic Scotland as the crossing is a listed structure.
Similar windshielding was installed nearly 20 years ago on the Severn Bridge over the Bristol Channel.
The suspension bridge is of similar design to the Forth Road Bridge and was completed two years later, in 1966.
Its windshielding has reduced the level of risk of vehicles being blown over near the towers to that for the rest of the bridge.
It was originally thought that windshielding could not be added to the current Forth crossing because of the extra stresses caused by the force of the wind.
The planned adjacent Forth Replacement Crossing – like the Second Severn Crossing – will have full windshielding.
Motoring groups applauded the plans. Philip Gomm, a spokesman for the Royal Automobile Club Foundation, said: "Strong winds have been a real hazard for drivers using the Forth Road Bridge and this remedial action will be welcomed if it works.
"Comfort must be taken from the seemingly long-standing effectiveness of a similar scheme on the original Severn Crossing cited by the engineers."
