Queensferry Crossing '˜94% complete and due to open next May'

The project will then move on to a new phase of finishing works, with the bridge on schedule to open in May 2017.

Transport Scotland has released a video showing highlights from the past 12 months of the project.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown said: “The Queensferry Crossing is now nearing completion and is on schedule to open in May next year.

“At this stage there are only two more deck segments to lift of the 122 total – with these due to be in place in early 2017.

“When work starts back at the beginning of January the initial focus will be on completing the final few concrete pours to complete the deck of the south viaduct.

“Then focus will shift on to a new phase of finishing works – water proofing, road surfacing and the final fit out of all the mechanical and electrical systems on what will be a truly state-of-the-art bridge.”

Construction started in 2011 and was originally due for completion in September 2016, but weather problems led to delays, causing the opening to be put off.

And the project was touched by tragedy in April when a worker was killed after being struck by the boom of a crane.

Mr Brown said: “The challenge the project faces with the weather have been well documented but, of course, no-one ever said building the tallest bridge in Britain in such a challenging environment was going to be easy.”

The project will create a 14 mile motorway connection between the outskirts of Edinburgh and Dunfermline, with much improved junctions and smart technology to vary speed limits to ease periods of congestion, he said.

When the Queensferry Crossing opens, the Forth Road Bridge will be retained as a dedicated public transport corridor and will also provide a largely traffic-free environment for cyclists and walkers across the Forth.

Once it is complete, the 1.7-mile structure will be the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world and also by far the largest to feature cables which cross mid-span.

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