Queensferry Crossing

The Queensferry Crossing stands in the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh and Fife. It is a three-tower cable-stayed road bridge that carries the M90 motorway. The bridge runs alongside the older Forth Road Bridge and the Forth Rail Bridge. It links South Queensferry on the south bank with North Queensferry on the north bank. The crossing replaces an overloaded 1964 road bridge that could no longer cope with rising traffic. The crossing was built after inspections in the early 2000s found the existing bridge’s cables had lost up to ten per cent of their strength. Without a new bridge, traffic restrictions would have been needed by 2014. The Scottish Government decided on a replacement in 2007 and named it in 2013. Construction began in 2011 and finished in 2017, when Queen Elizabeth II formally opened it. Visitors approaching from Edinburgh see the bridge rising above the water with its three white towers. The roadway stretches for 2.7 kilometres across the firth. New approach roads and junctions were built on both sides. The old Forth Road Bridge remains open for buses, cyclists and walkers. From the shoreline, the crossing offers wide views of the water and the two older bridges.