Cracks have been discovered in heavy-duty nuts used to secure the steel ropes holding up the Forth Road Bridge. Workers on the bridge - who were carrying out a routine inspection - found that nine out of a total of 1,888 similar nuts had cracked. Four on the west cable have already been replaced and the remaining five will be changed over the coming year.
Engineering consultancy FaberMaunsell has been appointed to investigate the cause of the cracking. Barry Colford, chief engineer
and bridgemaster, says the structure remains "perfectly safe". He adds: "Thanks to the vigilance of our inspection team, the problem has been identified at an early stage and we're already taking steps to replace the damaged nuts and investigate whether any further action is required."
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