CALLS have been made to reopen the Forth Road Bridge at peak times to ease congestion on the Queensferry Crossing.

The suggestion came after councillors on the South and West Fife area committee agreed on a motion to invite Transport Scotland and Fife Council officials to discuss traffic problems on the £1.35 billion crossing.

Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay councillor Dave Dempsey said there were also issues with the B981 road, between Crossgates and Inverkeithing, which were adding to the problems.

He said: “There are two elements to this, the first being that congestion forms too frequently on the crossing, and it seems to be getting worse. I’m reminded of the days where North Queensferry Primary School wasn’t able to function because not enough teachers could get to the school due to the traffic.

“More specifically there are a lot of complaints that the B981 is an inferior road, so many people are avoiding that, adding to the congestion.

“It’s not good, and we ought to find out what the situation is and what we can do about it.”

His fellow ward councillor Dave Coleman put forward a suggestion at the committee’s meeting this month that the Forth Road Bridge should be considered as an alternative option during busy times.

He said: “It might even be worthwhile looking into seeing if the old bridge can be used for crossings at certain points of the day.”

SNP councillor David Barratt issued a reminder to the committee, which saw all councillors approve the motion.

He said: “Don’t forget the bridge was built as a replacement, not to increase capacity.

“Edinburgh councils lobbied not to make it a three lane bridge as they didn’t want any increase in capacity of cars coming in.”

Convener of the committee, councillor Alice McGarry, agreed and said: “The old bridge currently isn’t being used as the new one was built as a replacement for something that needed replaced.

“It needs a lot of work, however, that’s something that also needs to be looked into. It will have to get done eventually.”

Michael Matheson, the Scottish Government’s transport secretary, said “good progress” was being made on snagging works on the crossing which have caused disruption to drivers since it opened two years ago.

Speaking on the issue at the Scottish Parliament, he stated: “The contractor has advised snagging works will be completed by the end of this year – weather-permitting.”

Last month Mr Matheson said that approach times to the Queensferry Crossing will be quicker once new traffic systems go live.

He said: “This includes the ramp metering at both Ferrytoll and Queensferry junctions, which should assist the traffic flow on the mainline and decrease delays caused by joining traffic during peak periods. This ramp metering will hold traffic on the slip road joining the Queensferry Crossing section of the M90 to allow the mainline flow to take priority.”