Hydraulic fluid spill from lorry causes traffic chaos around Forth Road Bridge

Drivers heading north into Fife were forced to contend with lengthy delays after a spillage caused chaos on and around the Forth Road Bridge during Monday evening rush hour.

Traffic came to a standstill when the bridge was restricted to a single lane after a lorry spilled hydraulic fluid along the length of the inside lane of the bridge’s northbound carriageway.

The incident took place at around 1.30pm and a major clean-up operation swung into action to make the carriageway safe.

Specialist road cleaning equipment was brought in to prevent the fluid causing damage to the bridge’s mastic asphalt surfacing. Engineers then had to assess the condition of the carriageway and skid tests were carried out before the carriageway could be reopened at approximately 7.45pm.

The knock-on effect for vehicles travelling north worsened in the afternoon and reached its peak between 5 and 6pm, with some Fife motorists reporting delays of up to three hours in getting home from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Restrictions were lifted completely late on Monday night.