Blakedale News

Road Marker Posts manufactured and supplied by Blakedale have been installed at the Queensferry Crossing, the newest addition to Scotland’s famous Forth Bridges. 

Officially opened by The Queen last September, the new bridge marked another milestone earlier this year by becoming a designated motorway, extending the M90 between Edinburgh and Fife. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) was the main contractor, appointed by Transport Scotland. As part of this project FCBC has so far installed around 180 of Blakedale’s Type 1 and Type 6A Trunk Road Marker Posts along the crossing’s southern approach roads. 

The new bridge is the third crossing of the Forth at Queensferry, alongside the Forth Road Bridge, completed in 1964, and the Forth Bridge, a railway bridge completed in 1890. Spanning 1.7 miles, it is the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world, and the UK’s tallest, reaching 207 metres (683 feet) above high tide. This landmark £1.35bn project also included the construction of around 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) of new connecting roads where Blakedale’s posts have been put to use. 

Marker posts are located at every 100m along the majority of the UK’s major roads. The numerals and symbols printed on them help to identify the locations of breakdowns, accidents, maintenance works and emergency telephones. 

Posts vary in colour and design according to where they are installed; green-topped for trunk roads and blue for motorways. Type 1 marker posts are designed for installation into the ground at the side of the hard shoulder and Type 6A posts for fixing to concrete in tunnels and parapets. 

We manufacture our Trunk and Motorway Posts from robust, weather proof and maintenance free UPVC in accordance with the Highway Construction specifications detailed in E series drawings, as specified by the Department for Transport. 

Carmen Bowley, Joint Managing Director of Blakedale Limited, comments: “We are delighted to see two of our products installed on the approach to this impressive new landmark where they will support motorists, emergency control and maintenance teams for many years to come.”

Images courtesy of Transport Scotland.