Work on a multi-million-pound project to protect the Tay Road Bridge has been pushed back to next year.
Members of the bridge joint board discussed the scheme estimated to cost £19.1 million at a meeting this week.
It had been due to get under way in November but a new start date has now been set for February after it was revealed the Chinese company responsible for manufacturing the enormous steel tubular piles that are to be anchored into the bedrock had fallen behind schedule.
Representatives from the contractor behind the operation, VolkerStevin Ltd, delivered a presentation and explained the new date not only accommodates the delay in supply parts but is intended to avoid the worst of the winter weather.
They also said they will seek to offer local employment opportunities in areas such as welding, concrete construction and off-site fabrication work.
The prospect of delivering a boost to the local jobs market was given the thumbs-up by the board’s chairman Andrew Arbuckle. He believes the work is long overdue, despite the huge costs involved.
“It’s something that should have been done originally,” Mr Arbuckle said. “I hope there are opportunities for local workers to be employed through the project.”
Since it was opened in 1966 the bridge has been struck three times, although in each case only superficial damage was caused.
The new protective measures are being funded by Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government’s transport agency, to ensure the bridge is never closed by a serious impact.
A study found that a sudden closure of the crossing would cost the local economy an estimated £680 million as a result of vehicles being diverted via Perth.
Modern-day bridges are equipped to withstand shipping impact but the Tay Road Bridge is effectively unprotected.
In the new project the three columns between which vessels pass bound for Perth harbour will be buffered with steel piling 1.8 to two metres in diameter and 60 metres long.