BEAR Scotland has announced a programme of works to refurbish and maintain the Forth Road Bridge, with a project to renew the waterproofing and surfacing on its approach viaducts.

Transport Scotland's operating company BEAR Scotland will carry out the works under a series of lane and carriageway closures from Wednesday 29 June until the end of October:

• Wednesday 29 June – Sunday 03 July: Fast lanes closed northbound and southbound

• Monday 4 July – Sunday 7 August: Southbound carriageway closure

• Monday 8 August – Friday 19 August: Fast lanes closed northbound and southbound

• Saturday 20 August – Tuesday 27 September: Northbound carriageway closure

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• Wednesday 28 September – Wednesday 12 October: Southbound carriageway closure

• Thursday 13 October – Friday 28 October: Fast lanes closed northbound and southbound

One lane in each direction will remain available to traffic throughout these works.

All work is weather dependent so dates may be updated in the event of adverse conditions.

For the safety of road users and the workforce, a mandatory 30mph speed limit will be in place on the Forth Road Bridge for the duration of the project.

Chris Tracey, BEAR Scotland's South East Unit Bridges Manager said: "The approach viaducts on the Forth Road Bridge have never been waterproofed, which has resulted in small localised areas of damage to the concrete decks. To avoid further deterioration, it is now essential that we remove the existing surfacing, carry out concrete repairs to the deck, and apply a new waterproof membrane before adding new surfacing.

"Lane and carriageway closures are unavoidable, however we do not expect these works to cause any significant delays for users of the bridge.

"While restrictions are in place, we will also be taking the opportunity to carry out other works on the bridge that require access to the carriageways, such as such as joint repairs and inspections."