Scottish Canals blamed for neglecting vital bridge repair in Falkirk village

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A lack of proper maintenance by Scottish Canals is putting a vital road link in a Falkirk village at 'serious risk of failure', two councillors have claimed.

Bonnybridge councillors Jack Redmond and Billy Buchanan have strongly criticised Scottish Canals for not maintaining the bridge over the Forth & Clyde canal at Bonnybridge, which lifts to allow boats to pass under.

The bridge is owned and operated by Scottish Canals and Cllr Redmond says the organisation has "failed to engage properly" with Falkirk Council, leaving the local authority to make temporary repairs. Read more: Growth Deal worth £150 million set to boost Falkirk and Grangemouth Cllr Redmond said: "The bridge is a vital piece of infrastructure for Bonnybridge and is now at serious risk of failure due to Scottish canals neglect of proper maintenance."Scottish Canals really need to start taking this seriously and start taking responsibility for the infrastructure that they operate."The longer they leave the repairs the further the bridge will deteriorate, making the repair work even more expensive."There are now four inch deep potholes and the steel structure is now exposed through the concrete."The council has carried out a number of temporary repairs for Scottish Canals on the understanding that they were going to be carrying out major refurbishment works."As well as the poor state of the road surface, there are also concerns that the opening mechanism of the bridge is faulty, which can cause major inconvenience.Last week, the bridge was lifted to allow a canal boat to pass through but did not go back into place correctly and was closed for 30 minutes.Cllr Redmond says that he was concerned to see that while the bridge reopened after half an hour, it