New bridge project is on schedule

Today Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown visited the Queensferry Crossing to view the latest position with the construction of the new £1.35 to £1.4 billion project.

2015 has been another year of milestones reached with good progress made on the vital Forth Replacement Crossing project, which will deliver a new bridge across the Forth and major upgrades to the road network in the East of Scotland.

The operation to lift the 750 tonne deck sections into place began in September and 36 are now installed out of the total of 122, meaning 29.5 per cent of the deck is now in place.

Mr Brown said: “This has been another strong year of progress on the Forth Replacement Crossing. I’m delighted to report over a quarter of the bridge deck is in place with another 12 months to go before the Queensferry Crossing is open to traffic.

“The spectacular deck fans around each tower – formed by the stay cables which support the new deck sections – are now dominating the view of the Forth and the form of the finished bridge is rapidly taking shape.

“Everywhere you look major milestones are being reached and significant progress being made. To name a few examples, concreting has been completed on the three towers, the south viaduct is complete with the concrete now being poured to complete the deck, final preparations are being made for the imminent launch of the north viaduct and great strides have been taken on the complex new and upgraded road networks to the south and north of the Forth.

“The current closure of the Forth Road Bridge has brought into sharp focus the need for a new crossing over the Forth. The case for which was identified in Transport Scotland’s Forth Replacement Crossing Study of 2006.”

He added: “I am pleased to report the project remains on schedule and significantly under budget.”