Change to pedestrian and cycle access

For the safety of bridge users, the Forth Road Bridge has a policy of separating the public from construction traffic as far as possible. For the last few years most maintenance work was taking place on the West side of the bridge, so only the East footpath was open to the public. However, the balance of maintenance activity has now shifted, meaning that this arrangement has been reversed.

Barry Colford, Chief Engineer & Bridgemaster, said: “Cyclists and pedestrians have always been equally as important as vehicles crossing the Forth Road Bridge. The bridge forms part of the National Cycle Route and for this reason we have always kept at least one footpath/cycleway open to the public, except in high winds when both must be closed for safety reasons.

“We do appreciate the inconvenience caused to cyclists having to dismount and cross the A90 via the underpass at the southern end of the bridge. However, this inconvenience is outweighed by the safety risk that would be posed by cyclists and pedestrians coming into contact with increased maintenance activity on the footpath.

“We have a great deal of work under way at the moment and I’d like to thank all users of the bridge for their understanding.”

A narrow ramp has been added to the underpass at the southern end of the bridge to allow cyclists to push their bikes up and down the stairs rather than carry them. At the northern end of the bridge the National Cycle Route has been re-routed from Ferrytoll to avoid the stairs.

The current arrangement is expected to stay in place for at least a year.