Ian Swanson - Bridge building is an expensive business

Today’s the day we should finally learn how the Scottish Government plans to finance the new Forth Road Bridge.
Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson is due to make a statement on the Strategic Transport Projects Review in parliament this afternoon.
The project is estimated to cost £4.2 billion - but with the scheduled opening of the new bridge eight years away, who knows what the final price will be.
Options for funding such a massive scheme are limited.
The SNP has set its face against the Private Finance Initiative.
Having abolished tolls on the existing bridge as one of their first acts in government, the Nationalists will not be reintroducing charges to help pay for the new crossing.
So the scheme is being seen as a major test for the SNP’s Scottish Futures Trust.
And in the background, there are still questions being asked about whether the new crossing is really necessary.Lawrence Marshall, former chairman of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, which looks after the bridge, claimed earlier this month the existing bridge could last for another 80 years after signs that attempts to halt the corrosion are working.