Two opposition politicians and the Herald ignored the report from the company responsible, Bear Scotland, that the ice sensor had worked but that there had been a delay in shutting the bridge because of human error. Who’s to blame? Bear Scotland.
Not good enough for these two:
Scottish Labour’s Colin Smyth was the source for the embarrassing quote. Wait, isn’t Smyth with a y, the Tory version of Smith?
Smyth is a man of the highest expectations. In 2017, he famously described 93.97% of A&E patients being see in 4 hours as ‘deeply troubling.’
Wings then noted: ‘Percentage of the vote on which Mr Smyth was elected as an MSP in 2016: 8.9%‘
Tory MSP Dean Lockhart, joined in with the suggestion that 4 hour closure had been ‘massive disruption.’
In 2017, Lockhart with Gary Smith, leader of Scotland’s only Tory trade union, the GMB, came out in favour of fracking in Central Scotland, just as New York State banned it:
Fact Check: The Queensferry Crossing
We’ve had this before. A multi-million capital project that needs maintenance – who’d have thought that? What about that Rail Bridge? Will they ever be able to stop painting it?
Queensferry Crossing named best infrastructure project: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-49945051
Queensferry Crossing collects more awards: https://uk.ramboll.com/news/ruk/queensferry-crossing-collects-more-awards
Hauliers hail resilience of new Forth crossing after 34 “closures” prevented by wind shielding: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/967547/hauliers-hail-resilience-of-new-forth-crossing-after-34-closures-prevented-by-wind-shielding/
Queensferry Crossing proving its worth: https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/queensferry-crossing-proving-its-worth/
Queensferry Crossing serves up early business boost: https://www.gov.scot/news/queensferry-crossing-serves-up-early-business-boost/
I could go on and on.
I think you’ll find, if you Google it, that the name “Smyth with a y”, isn’t the Tory version of Smith. It’s actually an ancient variant of that name. It’s found in the USA and Canada, suggesting that Smyths were displaced in the clearances. I have friends called Smyth and they’d be appalled to be thought of as tories!
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Ooops….Smythe?
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Ha, ha. See this for example. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/name-origin?surname=smyth
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Has anyone ever put together the research of how often the Forth Bridge *used* to be closed, how often the Queensferry has been closed since open (and why), and how often since Quensferry opened that the Forth Bridge has been shut?
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Yes
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have you got a link?
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Another day, another opportunity to rubbish SG, nothing more nothing less. The internet was frothing over “incompetent Architects and Engineers” etc. folks with not the slightest interest nor knowledge of bridges, the gloating over the QC only lasted so long as nobody mentioned the Severn Bridge closure….
No cable stayed bridge in the world is immune to extraordinary icing conditions, and on the night in question the weather was anything but normal. Friends I know were wakened at silly o’clock and spent the rest of their day like the walking dead…
Uncontrolled shedding of adhered ice is dangerous enough without the momentum imparted from such great heights, that they gave the all clear within 3 hours on such a long bridge is excellent.
As to the deliberate sensors lie, this was the only way the ‘troublemakers’ could imply a design flaw and SG blame, operator error would have failed in that purpose.
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These clowns HATE it when Scotland is seen to be doing well.
Scot-hating-Scots.
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Electrically de-icing the Queensferry Crossing cable-stayed bridge
https://peterdow.wordpress.com/2020/02/11/electrically-de-icing-the-queensferry-crossing-cable-stayed-bridge/
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Without the SNP there would be no bridge to complain about. Just more queues. The unionist parties opposed building it.
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Without the new Forth road bridge, a major arterial connection for Scotland, people would be navigating across the Firth of Forth in wee sail boats! As you say there woud be NO bridge, every single BritNat rejected it, including the er Scottish Greens. I bet they all bloody well use it though with their SUVs. Oh and no bridge tolls in Scotland like you have in England.
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I don’t think it’s fair to say there was operator error – the sensors are designed to warn when the conditions are right for ice forming, but this then needs to be confirmed by human observation. BEAR Scotland stated that the sensors warned that the conditions were conducive at 4:30, patrols spotted ice falling shortly after and the bridge was closed at 4:45. This was in line with procedures.
Weather forecasts are not 100% reliable, so it is normal for any road or bridge to be closed after the predicted weather arrives, otherwise we would be closing them unnecessarily on a regular basis. There is always the chance you might get caught in the first gust of wind or fall of snow before the road is closed, but that is a risk we generally accept.
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