Structural defects that caused the closure of the Forth Road Bridge "could not have been foreseen", according to a Scottish Parliament committee.

The structure was closed to all traffic last year after issues were discovered with a truss end link mechanism in December.

An inquiry, by the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee, has now concluded that the Fort Estuary Transport Authority's (FETA) decision to reprioritise projects within its capital plan following the 2011 Spending Review, including work to the mechanism which failed, was an 'appropriate course of action'.

Committee Convener Jim Eadie MSP said "many legitimate questions" have been raised over the nature of the problem and whether it could have been avoided.

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However, after hearing from a number of structural engineers, FETA representatives and Transport Scotland, all witnesses were of the view that the incident was unforeseeable.

Mr Eadie said: "As a result we have concluded that the decision by FETA to reprioritise the proposed work on the truss end links was an appropriate course of action on the basis of both the prevailing financial circumstances and the engineering advice available at the time.

"The Committee concluded that the development of the Forth Replacement Crossing would have had an influence on decisions to reprioritise certain capital projects. The Committee is of the view that FETA dealt with the challenge of reprioritising its capital proposals in a professional and responsible manner.

"We commend all those who worked so hard to repair the bridge and have it reopened ahead of initial estimates. However we are also conscious that the impact on the travelling public and businesses – particularly the haulage industry – was significant.

"The Committee therefore intends to recommend that its successor Committee in the new Parliamentary session give consideration to exploring such issues further."

(LM)