MSPs have backed plans to build a new road bridge over the Firth of Forth.
The green light for the £2.3bn project looks set to be given by the Scottish Parliament within weeks.
MSPs at Holyrood must approve the legislation contained in the Forth Crossing Bill when it comes before them next month.
Holyrood’s Forth Crossing Bill committee backed the bill’s general principles in Wednesday’s report.
The committee called for steps to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
It also wants adequate checks to monitor the cost of the bridge, and for organisations involved in the project to ensure maximum scope for public transport.
Committee convener Jackson Carlaw said councils and business groups reported that firms and communities would be disrupted anyway if a new bridge was not built.
“It is also of huge importance that this multi-million-pound project remains on track in terms of budget, so the committee wants procedures in place to ensure strict monitoring of costs,” he said.Cross-party supportJohn Park, Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said, “It is a really important vote and I think there is definitely cross-party support for a new crossing.
“The big question now is: how do you fund it? We are in a climate where, understandably, every single penny has to be checked and double checked in terms of how it is being spent.
“There’s got to be a cost benefit to anything that we do, but I think it’s pretty clear that the new crossing is about providing real economic benefit for Fife and Scotland.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland said the MSPs on the committee were ignoring the impact the third crossing would have on the environment.
Juliet Swann, head of projects and campaigns at FoES, said, “At a time when we are expecting huge cuts from the new UK Government it makes no sense to propose spending millions of pounds on this unnecessary development.
“As well as facing up to the fiscal crisis and the necessary cuts, we must face up to the climate crisis and cut projects like the Forth crossing.”
FoES said the Scottish Parliament’s figures had shown the project would swallow up to £613m between this year and 2013, £1179m from 2013 to 2016, and a further £196m after 2016.
It argues the Forth Road Bridge’s main support cables, which have been corroded, could be repaired for £122m.