Bear Scotland have informed drivers that the Queensferry Crossing will be closed for 12 hours across the evening of Saturday 26 March from 8:00pm to 08:00am on Sunday 27.
The move is part of a trial that will divert traffic using the M90 over the Forth Road Bridge, instead of the traditional route via Kincardine, to see if the route could cope if the Queensferry Crossing is forced to close in future.
From around 8:00pm on Saturday 26 March, southbound traffic travelling on the M90 will be diverted off the motorway at Junction 1B Ferrytoll, before crossing the Ferrytoll Roundabout and joining the Forth Road Bridge via the A9000, which is normally reserved for public transport.
Access to the Ferrytoll roundabout eastbound from the B981 or westbound from Hope Street, Inverkeithing will be denied during the trial.
Local traffic will be required to access the M90 via Junction 1C Admiralty.
Initially, northbound traffic on the M90 will be diverted off the motorway at Junction 1A Queensferry, then along the A904 Builyeon Road to join the Forth Road Bridge from the Echline Roundabout.
Later in the evening northbound traffic will be diverted directly onto the Forth Road Bridge, once the emergency crossover from the M90 has been opened.
The Queensferry Crossing will be reopened by 08:00 on Sunday 27 March at the latest.
Chris Tracey, BEAR Scotland’s unit bridges manager for south east Scotland, said: “Last winter’s two closures of the Queensferry Crossing only lasted for a few hours, so a diversion via the Forth Road Bridge needs to be opened relatively quickly if it is to make a difference.
“In 2021 we carried out two trial diversions via Forth Road Bridge, first using the emergency links on either side of the bridge and then using the slip roads. The purpose of these trials was to test precisely how long each of these processes takes.
“This weekend we are trialling opening the diversion in stages, initially via the slip roads and later using the emergency links. The aim is to avoid the need for traffic to divert via Kincardine while the diversion is set up.
“Using the slip roads does not provide the same capacity as the emergency links but can be set up more quickly. For longer term closures we would still open the emergency links.
“Other measures to speed up the process are also being looked at, including barriers that can be opened automatically. We’ll share further updates as this work progresses.”
