Public will not foot bridge bill

The Clyde Arc contractor will meet the repair bill

Taxpayers will not be asked to meet the costs of repairing the so-called Squinty Bridge in Glasgow, a senior council official has told BBC Scotland.

The £20m Clyde Arc will be closed to all traffic for up to six months after one support cable snapped and a stress fracture was found in a second.

Robert Booth, executive director of land and environmental services, said the contractor would meet repair costs.

He said: "There will be no pressure on the public purse."

All movement on the river under the bridge has been suspended as a "precautionary measure".

'Clearly embarrassing'

Each of the connector units, which hold the cables on the arc, will now be replaced.

Engineers found alignment between the connectors and cables was out and the weight distribution "wasn't as it should be".

This led to one support cable snapping and a stress fracture in a second cable.

Mr Booth said: "The bridge is safe, it's for the designers now to advise us how they intend to carry out remedial work to allow traffic back onto it.

"It's clearly serious, it's quite clear the bridge will remain closed now for at least several months.

"Clearly we're embarrassed, what we can't do is put the public at risk and that's why it will have to remain closed until we're confident it is safe."

The Clyde Arc, which opened in September 2006, has a design life of 120 years.

It was designed by Halcrow and built by civil engineering contractor Edmund Nuttall Ltd.