Image: Queensferry Crossing Twitter page
The new £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing will fully open for traffic for the first time on Wednesday.
The 1.7-mile crossing over the River Forth has taken six years to build and will link the Lothians and Fife. It is set to be the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world.
The project was commissioned after the Forth Road Bridge was deemed no longer viable as the long-term main crossing of the Firth of Forth.
Although opening on Wednesday, it will then close over the weekend to give 50,000 members of the public the chance to walk across it.
The new crossing will take most of the vehicles that currently travel over the 53-year-old Forth Road Bridge.
The existing suspension bridge will be adapted to be used by lighter traffic such as cycles, pedestrians and public transport.
Problems were uncovered in the current Forth Road Bridge with corrosion of the wires inside its cables not long after its 40th birthday.
The corrosion meant that the bridge’s cables had already lost about 10% of their strength and it was forecast that it might not be able to take the heavy loads for much more than a decade.
The decision to replace it was taken in 2007, with construction of the new crossing beginning in September 2011.
About 1,000 sensors have been fitted to give advanced warning of any problems, allowing maintenance teams to pre-empt potential issues.
It has a design life of 120 years but could last longer, with the cable-stayed structure chosen because of its easier maintenance.
15,000 workers were involved with the building project.
Last week First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon took part in a ceremony that saw the bridge lit up to mark the handover of the bridge from the contractors to the Scottish government.
Sturgeon addressed workers on the vening, she said: “I can’t tell you how emotional it feels to be standing on this stunning Queensferry Crossing.
“It is here to do a job and keep our country connected but it is much more than that.
“This bridge will be one of the greatest bridges in the world, no scrub that, this bridge is the greatest bridge in the world.”
It is hoped the new bridge could see the area emulate the success of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tower Bridge.
