Steelworks' bridge boost

THE construction of a new bridge in Scotland is being tipped to bring a small boost to Scunthorpe's Tata Steel plant.

It has been revealed by politicians in Scotland that some of the steel used to build the new Forth road bridge will be rolled in Scunthorpe.

An artist's impression of the new Forth replacement bridge has been published by Transport Scotland and it shows the new structure alongside the current Forth bridge.

And the new year order will benefit the Scunthorpe steelworks. A Tata Steel spokesman said: "We are working on a deal to supply structural steelwork for the new Forth road bridge."

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The Tata steelworks in Motherwell is also supplying raw materials for the new structure, which will be put up alongside the iconic railway bridge.

Huge steel girders will support the viaducts at either end of the 1.7-mile long, three tower, cable-stayed structure.

The £1.6 billion bridge – officially known as the Forth Replacement Crossing – will link Edinburgh and Fife and has been described as the biggest transport infrastructure project in Scotland for a generation.

Construction began in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2016.

John Pentland, member of the Scottish Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw, has welcomed Tata Steel's involvement.

He described it as "good news for workers at the Dalzell steel plant in Motherwell, since it has also been reported that the steel for the contract will be supplied by Tata from their plants in Motherwell and Scunthorpe."

The Scottish Government says the final assembly stages of the steel components would be carried out locally, creating hundreds of jobs.

Michael Leahy, general secretary of steel union Community, said: "This is a welcome development for all those Scottish and UK steelworkers who were snubbed by the original procurement process.

"We are hopeful that this will now mean that some Scottish steel could be part of such a prestigious project."