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"The long awaited and now named, 'Clackmannanshire Bridge' from Airth to the south of the Forth to near Tulliallan, Fife in the north is greatly welcomed!" "It could provide a model for future transport and other infrastructure projects", claimed Cllr William Walker of West Fife and member of the Council's Environment, Enterprise and Transportation Committee. "Not only has this new crossing been completed on time, opening on 19 November next, but the total cost was guaranteed at 120 million pounds. A great outcome, especially when compared with the recently re-opened and grossly expensive railway link from Stirling to Alloa and Kincardine! "The key, of course, was the fixed price with conditions negotiated up front, free from expensive PFI or PPP funding. I am sure that lessons are being learned for forthcoming projects, even for the much larger Forth Road Replacement Crossing from North Queensferry to the south. "The new 'Clackmannanshire Bridge' will bring substantial benefits to West Fife, easing congestion around the existing Kincardine Bridge for local residents and commercial traffic. The additional link will also help open up economic development in West Fife with better links to Glasgow and central Scotland." Cllr Walker concluded: "This is another step in the re-generation of Scotland's transport infrastructure. I shall be pushing for all the lessons learned here for publicly-financed projects to be extended to throughout Fife and Scotland". |
