WHILE I greatly admire the enterprise, boldness and ambition of the suggested Glasgow monorail scheme by the Beckett brothers I expect the estimated £300 million figure would hardly approach the final cost given the extensive city route proposed (“Clyde monorail idea could put city on a different track”, The Herald, May 30).

The idea, which is very attractive in principle, should perhaps be considered within the wider dynamic of future traffic-flow planning in the greater Glasgow area. I believe that the life expectancy of three key strategic river crossings has to be taken into account in any such planning.

The Clyde tunnel is now more than half a century old and as you reported earlier this year, it now needs £26m to rectify major faults. The Erskine Bridge, which is 45 years old was expected to last more than a century, catering now for a daily 35,000 vehicles. However, although of a quite different design to the faulty Forth Road Bridge which is 52 years old, who can predict how soon the cost of maintenance and safety issues will make it unviable? The Kingston Bridge, which is 46 years old and carries more than 150,000 vehicles a day has had its own tales of woe. Only 20 years ago around £30m was spent rectifying significant defects, and which involved jacking up the main deck.

Perhaps a new tunnel running from the Clydebank side of the Clyde to the Inchinnan side could be investigated with the facility to carry road traffic. Additionally it could also include a service, perhaps a form of tram, running from the railway line on the northern side of the Clyde straight into Glasgow Airport joining on to the existing but perhaps-widened Abbotsinch Road. Using the same route, non-airport vehicles would join onto the M8. Being about halfway between the existing Erskine Bridge and Clyde tunnel it would have the capacity to absorb the traffic strain when, inevitably, one of these two major Clyde crossings becomes unsafe to use.

If we accept that all these three strategically key, traffic crossings are showing their age, I suggest the time is now right for preventive planning considering their necessity for crossing the river. The new tunnel crossing is worthy of exploration and would, as a bonus, embrace the opportunity to provide public transport to Glasgow Airport.

Bill Brown,

46 Breadie Drive, Milngavie.