© Euan BrownlieQueensferry Crossing 2017
Queensferry Crossing 2017
The Bridge
The new road bridge at Queensferry is a vital link for the Scottish economy and forms the centrepiece of a major upgrade to the cross-Forth transport corridor linking Fife, the north and the east of Scotland, to Edinburgh and the south.
It is a three-tower cable-stayed bridge with two 650m central spans and has the world’s longest composite deck for a bridge of its type.
Bridge construction
The Queensferry Crossing became the longest (2.7 kilometres /1.7 miles) three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world. The bridge deck is made up of 122 composite steel/concrete sections, each up to 16m long and 30m wide. They were transported by barge from the nearby Rosyth marine dock to the bridge and lifted into place. The deck sections were hoisted from the firth to road level, erected out from each tower by cantilever and held by cables.
Queensferry Crossing
The third bridge to cross the Forth at Queensferry
Key Facts
Three-tower cable-stayed bridge
Alongside the iconic Forth Bridge and Forth Road Bridge
Location
Edinburgh, Scotland
Across the Firth of Forth
Carries the M90 motorway from Edinburgh to Fife
Designers / Engineers
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.
Ove Arup & Partners
Description
Multiple-span cable-stayed suspension bridge
2 x 650m main spans
2,638m total length
Main contractors
Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC)
Comprising: Hochtief (Germany), American Bridge (US), Dragados (Spain) and Morrison (Scotland)
Construction
Began September 2011
Opened 30 August 2017
Bridges over the Firth of Forth
It is the third bridge to cross the Forth at Queensferry alongside the iconic Forth Bridge and Forth Road Bridge. The Forth Bridge was a marvel of the Victorian era, designed and engineered by Benjamin Baker and John Fowler, and built by William Arrol. It is the world’s second-longest single cantilever span bridge and still carries 60,000 trains across the Forth each year.
The Road Bridge transformed the journey from north to south when completed in 1964 and was the longest-span suspension bridge outside the United States. Five decades on, it carries 24 million vehicles across the Forth every year, more than twice the amount of traffic it was designed for.
The importance of the link to the Scottish economy was demonstrated in late 2015 when the bridge had to close for emergency repairs to truss end links causing major disruption to the travelling public.
The new bridge is a vital link for the Scottish economy and forms the centrepiece of a major upgrade to the cross-Forth transport corridor linking Fife, the north and the east of Scotland to Edinburgh and the south.
Other long-span bridges
