WEST Fife residents have raised concerns that objects falling from the Forth Bridge, including large chunks of metal, are “risking the lives of pedestrians”.
Attendees at a recent meeting of the North Queensferry Community Council claimed that problems with debris coming down from the 134-year-old crossing are getting worse.
Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay councillor David Barratt said: “There has been issues with large chunks of metal and scaffolding clips falling from the bridge onto pedestrian areas below.
“If they hit somebody it would be incredibly serious, and it has been a surprisingly lengthy process to solve it. I would have thought that the first time this was reported Network Rail would have been on top of it, thinking ‘If this kills somebody we’ll be in big trouble.’
“It’s taken years of badgering from the community council, local MSPs and others to get anywhere with it."
He said a rusty liquid falling from the bridge has also been impacting residents since works unblocked weep holes in the structure.
Chair of the North Queensferry Community Council, Ian Mitchell KC, said: “Progress with Network Rail is painfully slow, but it is nonetheless progressing.
"We’ve reached a stage where they are finalising proposals for further work on the bridge to address the falling of the dirty water.
“That has to be budgeted and will take a little time, so we’re presently discussing with them a scheme whereby without admission of liability, they will cover small and recurrent works such as cleaning cars and windows on an occasional basis.
“We’re hoping for something that’s not an elaborate claims scheme, but is a lot less formal.
“The falling stuff is more worrying. It’s more serious than the falling water for obvious reasons and we’re very anxious that it gets resolved.”
Problems with falling objects go back years, with one person narrowly avoiding scaffolding which plummeted from the bridge and crushed part of a car as early as 1996.
Residents raised concerns in 2022 that scaffolding pins and metal bolts had reportedly fallen into gardens below the bridge.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We take great pride in looking after the Forth Bridge and most recently invested £7.5m in renovating the North Queensferry approach span between 2021 and 2022.
“We’ve continued to work closely with the community council and local elected members since the completion of that project.”
Last year the company said that the rail bridge, a Unesco world heritage site, was in “great condition.”
Nigel Kerr, head of Fife Council’s protective services, said: “Along with the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, we have been liaising with both Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) concerning complaints of water run-off from the Forth Bridge and allegations that debris has fallen from the bridge onto land below.
“We have carried out water sampling to assess any potential public health impacts from the water run-off and I’m pleased to say that the analysis did not show any elevated levels of contaminants associated with railway activities.
“We also met with Network Rail during the summer to discuss the concerns and followed this up with a letter to the Office of Rail and Road. We’re expecting a response within the next few weeks. Once we have this, we’ll then review whether further work is needed.”
