Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 17 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the operators of the Queensferry Crossing regarding regularly cleaning its cables to prevent the build up of ice.
Transport Scotland has worked in partnership with its Operating Company BEAR Scotland and industry experts to test potential solutions and mitigation measures for ice accretion on the Queensferry Crossing, including cable cleaning.
This work, supported by laboratory testing, showed that cleaning of the cables stays helps to reduce ice accretion. Whilst a clean cable may reduce ice accretion, this measure cannot prevent it entirely. This was confirmed by detailed inspection during the November 2024 ice accretion event, which found that ice had accreted to stays which had no visual detritus. Notwithstanding this, we believe that cleaning the cables is a worthwhile mitigation measure that should be completed periodically.