I was flattered to find parts of my letter of November 4 used in The Herald editorial to illustrate just how costly would be a new, additional, Forth Road Bridge (December 21).

So costly was Cabinet Secretary John Swinney's then estimate that it could fund the entire Scottish programme of public transport investment for years to come.

The small change could even provide every Scottish council with £20 per head of population for walking and cycling projects - a particularly galling thought at a time when investment in Scottish cycling infrastructure looks set to fall severely in the aftermath of John Swinney's recent financial statement.

Yet now, just three months after his previous bridge estimate, the cost has risen yet again - to around £4bn. Quite unbelievably, this latest cost increase alone is enough to pay the entire cost of the Edinburgh tram project twice over.

How many desperately needed transport projects throughout urban and rural Scotland will never see the light of day, thanks to this massive outlay? Yet the latest research suggests that the existing road bridge is almost certainly repairable, with techniques already used elsewhere.

How, then, can it be right to decide now to spend £800 each for every man, woman and child in Scotland for a project that will double motor traffic across the Forth?

And can this be the same government that promises to cut CO2 emissions by 80%?

Dave du Feu 2 Greenpark Cottages Edinburgh Road Linlithgow.