Crack on new bridge 'being fixed'

The new crossing will open in November

A large crack that appeared in a pillar of the new Clackmannanshire Bridge is being repaired.

Transport Scotland said the crack, in pillar 13, was an air void which had developed because of the way the concrete pillar had solidified.

The organisation insisted air voids were normal and did not affect the integrity of the new bridge.

The £120m upper Forth crossing is due to open next month to alleviate traffic pressure on the Kincardine Bridge.

Upon completion, the new bridge will weigh more than 32,000 tonnes and be three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) in length.

Its construction involved one of the longest deck pushes of its kind in the world.

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said a gap had only formed in one of the bridge's pillars.

She added: "During the removal of the steel temporary works that formed the shuttering and shaped the concrete piers, surface gaps were found on one of the bridge's piers.

"These gaps are cosmetic and a relatively common occurrence when using concrete.

"Standard procedure for fixing this is to remove an area round the gap and replace it with more concrete."

The repair work is due to be completed at the end of October in time for the bridge's official opening on 19 November.