Scotland Opens Bidding for New $2-billion Forth Crossing

A turnkey contractor for Scotland’s estimated $2-billion Forth Road cable-stayed bridge is being sought. Transport Scotland plans to invite bids from selected teams this year, aiming to award the contract in spring 2011. For additional stiffening, the bridge will have unusually overlapping cable fans reaching down from two, centrally placed pylons 145 m above deck level. Its two 650-m main spans will be the longest for a multispan cable-stayed crossing, says TS. The bridge is the centerpiece of a 2.7-km-long motorway, of which the onshore sections are included in the contract. Design work was done by Arup Group, London, with Jacobs U.K. Ltd., Edinburgh.