It’s Number 1 story everywhere.
‘SNP bridge closure causes chaos for motorists.’
Just as with infected hospitals, only Scotland’s media think this kind of thing is headline news. Elsewhere, it’d be consigned to the transport bulletin.
Readers might remember, of course, that this bridge rarely closes and has been praised by hauliers (link below).
Scotsman readers (both) might also remember their own praise for the project voted the UK’s best infrastructure project. How will HS2 fare, I wonder?
It’s not even just that. It’s a world-famous example of how to run a major infrastructure project:
https://www.enr.com/articles/43436-a-scottish-bridge-that-is-a-lesson-on-how-to-build-big-projects
They cannot win. Literally.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/967547/hauliers-hail-resilience-of-new-forth-crossing-after-34-closures-prevented-by-wind-shielding/
WordPress won’t allow this url in the main text but it’s ok in a comment. Why?
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Maybe wrong place but worth adding to the 8% thread:
Scotland, 8% of the population but 100% of the UK aluminium smelters:
“The UK’s only remaining aluminium smelter, the Liberty British Aluminium factory in Lochaber, Scotland. Photograph: Sandy Young/PA” – photo caption in article:
https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2020/feb/11/uk-gdp-economy-growth-q4-2019-carney-lagarde-powell-business-live
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Lack of forward planning?
Jackson, Richard and Wullie should have been asked to speak at a meeting yesterday in Blackness. That would have generated enough hot air to keep the bridge rigging ice-free. 🙂
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The claim about the bridge was that it would not be closed by high winds (except in the case of typhoons!), as was often the case with the Road Bridge, the Tay Road Bridge and the Erskine Bridge and still is. Icing of superstructures has been a problem throughout history, with many stories of ships turning turtle, when the section above water became top heavy with ice. Better modern designs have reduced this markedly, but, it is doubtful if it can eliminate it happening.
Now, although the first BBC ‘story’ did, indeed, mention that the claim related to high winds, not ice – it was late in the bulletin, after they had given the shock-horror of ‘the bridge that was SUPPOSED to be never closed by weather’ and Mr Murdo Fraser was given time to say exactly the same without any challenge.
No person was injured by the falling ice although some cars were damaged. There were no crashes. Had Transport Scotland not closed the bridge to carry out an evaluation, the BBC and the hyena politicians would have been pillorying it for ‘exposing drivers’ to being crushed to death’.
This has been a paradigm example of media bias.
There was also a report on the decision to proceed with the High Speed 2 train in England, while the opposition and reservations of some Conservative MPs, local residents and ecology campaigners was mentioned, the bulk of the time was given over to ‘an expert’ who would tell us about the benefits WE will get from this rail service. This he proceeded to do, giving a spiel which would have put any PR glossy report in the shade, so fulsome was the report. The decision was, of course, ‘Boris Johnson’s’. Clearly HS2 will be the greatest thing since sliced breid.
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