Author Topic: Queensferry Crossing.  (Read 6333 times)

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #15 on: July 07, 2018, 09:46:59 PM »
Anytime I am going into the centre of the city I use the bus. Silly not to, particularly when it is free. On a Saturday I take shopping to my 93 year old mother-in-law, who lives south of the city. I could bus it, but it is two buses and three long walks in each direction. Add to that she often wants to go into the nearby town to do her banking.
I don't really think it is a plan to get motorists to use public transport, as weekdays the queues are trucks and lorries transporting goods the length and breadth of the country. And rail is not really an option there either, as Scotland's rail network - barring the central belt - is pretty non existent.

sparky Paul

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #16 on: July 07, 2018, 10:36:26 PM »
Perhaps I'll give the QFC a miss when I travel up in August. Mind you, we should pass through at around 3am, so you wouldn't think it would be that busy.  ;)

I'm a big believer in heavily subsidised public transport systems, they need to be comprehensive and cheap. I grew up in South Yorkshire in the 70s and 80s, when public transport went everywhere, cost pennies and was always busy. When deregulation came in 1986, Sheffield and Rotherham seemed to be gradually choked with car traffic over the following few years, I guess as long held habits were changed.

Where I live now no longer has any bus service, it was scrapped during the 'austerity' period cuts. When I see buses in town, they seem to be mostly populated by bus pass wielding pensioners, I find it quite sad that the only other people to use buses are perhaps those who have no other option.

If I walk a couple of miles to the next village, I can catch a bus and pay £6 for the return trip into town. You have to be careful with the timing in town though, there's only a few buses a day. For about £2 worth of petrol on the Jazz, I can make the return journey from the doorstep, with up to 3/4 passengers. The whole thing's screwy. I thought they wanted to cut pollution?
« Last Edit: July 07, 2018, 11:14:21 PM by sparky Paul »

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #17 on: July 08, 2018, 09:05:02 AM »
Only trouble with the QFC at 3 am is it isn't lit, so you will cross it without seeing it! The thing about the QFC is you have to use it or drive 20 miles further up the Forth, to Kincardine. The next crossing after that is another 10 miles to below Stirling.

We have a good bus service, here, but as you say, mainly bus pass passengers. Not only pensioners, either. When I was driving, I was surprised at how many younger people had bus passes. They seem to give them out like blue badges.

My late aunt moved to a tiny village (not even that, no shop, pub, nothing - just a group of houses) in the Spey valley. She was told there was a regular bus service into Granton-On-Spey. There was. One every Thursday morning, returning Thursday afternoon!

culzean

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #18 on: July 08, 2018, 11:34:10 AM »
I was all set to post a sarky comment asking why people chose to sit in the queue when they could simply use the old bridge, but luckily I looked it up first. So for all soft southerners (like me) who might not understand the subtlety, I believe the old bridge is now a Public Transport Corridor that is closed to private cars. Your splendid Scottish Government seems to be trying to persuade folks to change their travel habits by providing an easier route across the water for anyone prepared to use public transport (or bike, foot, skateboard, etc): that implies they are specifically wanting to hinder car users. Not sure why they think that might work when the adjacent rail bridge provides a similar public transport function, but if that’s really what’s going on they have no incentive to ease the congestion. Time to get the bike (or bus pass) out Jocko ? :(

The truth is the old suspension (as opposed to the new 'cable stay' design) bridge is falling down,  the cables are rusting away even as we speak.  They did not build a new bridge for the fun of it,  but they had to because the old one may well be condemned and closed.   The truth is that every traditional suspension bridge in the world has a limited life,  the large cables are made up of thousands of smaller diameter steel strands that are quietly failing (well not so quietly really,  they have microphones on the cables of suspensions cables listening for the telltale 'ping' as another strand parts company). They have delayed this decay a bit by blowing dry air up the inside of the cables,  but the cables cannot be repaired.  The reason 'cable stay' designs are now popular is that it gives maintenance crews the chance to replace individual cables should the need arise.   Looks like the rail bridge will long outlast the upstart suspension road bridge next to it,  and then there is the Severn bridge and the Humber bridge, and ........................

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-34983063

https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/dspace-jspui/bitstream/2134/9199/2/014-Humber%20Bridge%20Paper%20ICC%202011.pdf
« Last Edit: July 08, 2018, 12:32:55 PM by culzean »
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sparky Paul

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #19 on: July 08, 2018, 11:37:39 AM »
I'm coming from doon sooth and heading oop north, so I will probably stick to the usual M74 - M73 - M80 - M9 - A9 route.

Not many kids have bus passes around here, they can't afford them.

Incidentally, I am just looking at school bus passes, my eldest is stopping on to do A levels. Although she is still classed as a minor for schooling purposes and cannot leave full time education down here, and has had a free bus pass for the dedicated school bus service for the last 5 years, she will be liable for full adult fare from September, which is about £4 each way.

I can buy a pass for £120 per year which will give her half fare travel, of I can buy a fare-paid season pass for the cost of the full year's half fares, plus the £120, paid up front - the best part of £1000 in total.

It would be cheaper to drive her to school in the Jazz, making two round trips. There has to be something wrong with that.

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #20 on: July 08, 2018, 01:16:59 PM »
I'm coming from doon sooth and heading oop north, so I will probably stick to the usual M74 - M73 - M80 - M9 - A9 route.

Not many kids have bus passes around here, they can't afford them.
You won't be anywhere near the QFC with that route.

The bus passes I am referring to are free, handed out for the least reason. I believe you get a free bus pass if you are on Methadone!

Quote
The truth is the old suspension (as opposed to the new 'cable stay' design) bridge is falling down,  the cables are rusting away even as we speak.

The latest thinking is that the bridge is nowhere near as bad as they first thought. The immediate repairs necessary are being carried out this year and they are about to paint it, for the first time, which will take 10 years. They are also talking about replacing the cables, now that they can open and close the bridge as fancy takes it.
So perhaps, sometime in the future, we will have both bridges up and running at full capacity, though not in my lifetime I am afraid.

sparky Paul

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #21 on: July 08, 2018, 04:53:14 PM »
You won't be anywhere near the QFC with that route.

No, if was going to go over the QFC, I would go up the A1 and skirt Edinburgh. I find going over the A66 and up the A74M quite a bit quicker from here, if less scenic.

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #22 on: January 11, 2020, 04:18:08 PM »
Today I made a couple of crossings of the Forth, using the Queensferry Crossing. We were experiencing storm force winds and torrential driving rain. The A1, the main east coast trunk road into Scotland was closed to high sided vehicles, all the way from the border to the outskirts of Edinburgh. And yet the QFC didn't even have a speed restriction. This is down to the brilliant wind deflectors fitted to the new bridge.



The bridge is a 70 mph stretch of motorway, and remained so despite the weather today.
The old Forth Road Bridge would have been closed to high sided vehicles and caravans, with anything down to a 30 mph limit.

JimSh

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #23 on: January 11, 2020, 05:13:07 PM »
Today I made a couple of crossings of the Forth, using the Queensferry Crossing. We were experiencing storm force winds and torrential driving rain. The A1, the main east coast trunk road into Scotland was closed to high sided vehicles, all the way from the border to the outskirts of Edinburgh. And yet the QFC didn't even have a speed restriction. This is down to the brilliant wind deflectors fitted to the new bridge.



The bridge is a 70 mph stretch of motorway, and remained so despite the weather today.
The old Forth Road Bridge would have been closed to high sided vehicles and caravans, with anything down to a 30 mph limit.
I take it you didn't take that photo today.
I haven't been out the door.

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #24 on: January 11, 2020, 06:32:00 PM »
I take it you didn't take that photo today.
I haven't been out the door.
That wasn't one of mine. Found it on the net.
I wouldn't have gone out either, but my aged mother-in-law needed a visit. I managed to stay in on Tuesday, when the HGVs were blown over. That was the day they closed part of the A1 to ALL vehicles.

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #25 on: February 11, 2020, 09:47:33 AM »
Well so much for the bridge the weather will never close. It is closed now because snow and ice have built up on the cables and is then detaching and dropping into the carriageway. Eight cars were damaged before they closed the bridge to all traffic. As a result, traffic is having to use the Kincardine Bridge leading to a two-hour increase in journey time. Obviously, snow was not something they took into their calculations!

culzean

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #26 on: February 11, 2020, 11:04:50 AM »
Well so much for the bridge the weather will never close. It is closed now because snow and ice have built up on the cables and is then detaching and dropping into the carriageway. Eight cars were damaged before they closed the bridge to all traffic. As a result, traffic is having to use the Kincardine Bridge leading to a two-hour increase in journey time. Obviously, snow was not something they took into their calculations!

The Severn bridge has been closed for ice falling off cables more than once,  cannot see how you can avoid it on suspension / cable stay bridges without putting heated jackets on the cables --- and another thing is ice builds up on gantries and road signs and falls off in huge sheets.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2020, 11:10:38 AM by culzean »
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MartinJG

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #27 on: February 11, 2020, 01:19:48 PM »
Well so much for the bridge the weather will never close. It is closed now because snow and ice have built up on the cables and is then detaching and dropping into the carriageway. Eight cars were damaged before they closed the bridge to all traffic. As a result, traffic is having to use the Kincardine Bridge leading to a two-hour increase in journey time. Obviously, snow was not something they took into their calculations!

Wrong kind of snow...

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #28 on: February 11, 2020, 02:00:16 PM »
The Severn bridge has been closed for ice falling off cables more than once,  cannot see how you can avoid it on suspension / cable stay bridges without putting heated jackets on the cables --- and another thing is ice builds up on gantries and road signs and falls off in huge sheets.
The Forth Road Bridge, half a mile downriver, has never had to shut because of snow and/or ice falling off its cables/gantries/signs during its 66-year life. In fact, it is still open this week - to the 500 buses and taxis that use it each day. Unfortunately, it cannot be used by private vehicles who are now having to leave the motorway and travel over two-lane roads to the Kincardine Bridge, causing massive delays and tailbacks. Obviously, snow/ice was something they didn't account for when they designed the new bridge.

Jocko

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Re: Queensferry Crossing.
« Reply #29 on: February 11, 2020, 04:43:34 PM »
Wrong kind of snow...
“Engineers have been closely monitoring and studying the unique weather conditions causing this issue with a build-up of snow and ice on the Queensferry Crossing.

“We are developing our understanding of these conditions, which involve a certain consistency of snow and/or sleet, wind speed and direction, interacting with fluctuating low temperatures


So yes. Wrong type of snow!

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