Scotland's Queensferry Crossing welcomes first traffic

Spanning 2.7km, the new structure is the longest three-tower cable-stayed bridge in the world. Prior to being connected to the shore on both sides, its balanced cantilevers extended 322m north and south of the central tower, which is also an official Guinness world record.

Since 2011, the bridge has seen over 15,000 people inducted to work on the site, and a total of 18 million man hours have been dedicated to the project. The principal contractor, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), comprised a consortium of Hochtief (Germany), American Bridge (US), Dragados (Spain) and Morrison (Scotland). Official sources claim the development came in £245m under budget.

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/issues/6-february-2012/forth-amendment/

“I’ve worked on projects across the globe and I can safely say that this has been one of the most challenging but also the most rewarding,” said project director David Climie, from Transport Scotland.

“Until you’ve actually been out on the bridge during severe winds it’s hard to appreciate the task at hand of delivering such a complex project. Experts from across the globe have marvelled at this achievement and so it’s nice to think there will be some recognition at home for the workforce this week too.”