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| Approval for new crossing awaited | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| Plans for a new Forth crossing costing £1bn are expected to be ratified by the Scottish Cabinet. | |
| It follows a decision taken by the first minister and the transport minister at the end of last year. | It follows a decision taken by the first minister and the transport minister at the end of last year. |
| The cost to replace the existing Forth Road Bridge, which is suffering from corrosion, is almost double that of earlier estimates. | The cost to replace the existing Forth Road Bridge, which is suffering from corrosion, is almost double that of earlier estimates. |
| If the damage to the bridge cannot be halted, heavy lorries will have to be banned from crossing it by 2013. | If the damage to the bridge cannot be halted, heavy lorries will have to be banned from crossing it by 2013. |
| Ministers are understood to have been briefed on the condition of the existing bridge and have considered engineering assessments and detailed reports. | Ministers are understood to have been briefed on the condition of the existing bridge and have considered engineering assessments and detailed reports. |
| 'Great anxiety' | |
| The plans may involve the construction of a replacement bridge or a tunnel. | The plans may involve the construction of a replacement bridge or a tunnel. |
| Phil Flanders, of the Road Haulage Association, backed the construction of a new crossing. | |
| "Nobody seems to know just how long the bridge will have but we do know that, in the current state, HGVs will be banned from 2013," he said. | |
| "It's going to take that length of time to build a new bridge and what would happen if there's no new bridge when HGVs are banned doesn't bear thinking about." | |
| Councillor Mike Rumney, chair of Fife Council's environment and development committee, said: "The lack of a decision is causing great anxiety amongst the business sector. | |
| "That's not only bad for the economy of Fife, but for the economy of the whole east of Scotland and the central belt." |