§ Lord ALPORTMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the bridge at Ballachulish has been finished and what were the reasons for the delay in its completion.
§ Lord STRABOLGIMy Lords, I regret to say that completion has been delayed through the failure of one of the bearings supporting the superstructure. The damaged bearing has been replaced, and is now being examined as part of the problem of determining whether remedial action is required at the other bearings. When the results of these engineering investigations are available, a decision will be taken as to whether further measures are required.
§ Lord ALPORTMy Lords, may I thank the Minister for his reply and say that I regret that, inadvertently, I put down this Scottish Question for a Friday? I was considering my own convenience rather than the convenience of the Scottish Minister or of the noble Lord. May I ask him whether he realises that the Answer he has given will give cause for considerable concern? This improvement to the road network of the Highlands is long overdue and very badly needed, and the fact that there has been some substantial technical fault in the building of this bridge must involve additional cost and delay. However, can the noble Lord undertake that the bridge will be open by the spring of next year; and can he tell us the additional costs as a result of these technical faults, and who meets them?
§ Lord STRABOLGIMy Lords, it is kind of the noble Lord to explain why 1476 he put this Question down on a Friday although there is really no need for him to do so, because I am a spokesman for the Scottish Office and I shall do my best to answer the questions he has put to me. Because of the good progress that was being made in the early summer, the bridge should have been open by last month, but, as I said, there have been technical difficulties. Of course, these difficulties occur from time to time in important construction work of this kind, as no doubt the noble Lord knows, and it is much better to put them right before the bridge opens than for there to be difficulty afterwards. It is hoped, though, that the bridge will be open certainly by next summer, when it should be able to cope with the heavy traffic. As to the question of the costs, I am afraid I cannot answer the noble Lord at the moment. The original estimate was for about £2 million, but there is a question of where the responsibility lies, which is at present being discussed.
§ Lord FERRIERMy Lords, can the noble Lord assure the House that the ferry service will be maintained at full strength until such time as the bridge is open?
§ Lord STRABOLGIYes, my Lords, certainly. The Highlands Regional Council is maintaining the ferry service until the bridge is opened.