§ 41. Mr. Woodburnasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the present stage in the preparations for the building of the Forth road bridge; and whether it is possible to give a starting date for its construction.
§ The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. John Maclay)I understand that the consultant engineers employed by the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board are making good progress with the preparation of detailed plans. The Joint Board has my authority to invite tenders as soon as these plans are completed. I am afraid that until this stage has been reached I cannot add to my reply of 29th January last, in which I said that I hope that the actual work of construction may begin in the summer of 1958.
§ Mr. WoodburnThe right hon. Gentleman's Answer will be welcome as far as it goes, but the people would like to see some activity, say, in the preparation of the roads which will join up with the bridge. This would give them the feeling that something was actually on the move.
§ Mr. MaclayAs I said, the Joint Board is moving as fast as it can, and I hope that we shall see progress fairly soon.