New Queensferry Crossing '˜will be on time and under budget'

Bridging the gap and the gap is getting smaller as the Queensferry Crossings decks inch closer towards each other across the Forth. Picture Ian Rutherford

The mammoth £1.35 billion structure is expected to open to traffic in December this year.

Bosses said the cable-stayed bridge would take its full shape by the end of summer, before work begins on surfacing the road.

A total of 34 of the crossing’s 110 concrete decks – each weighing up to 800 tonnes – are already in place, with its three towers also complete. Major road links on both sides of the crossing will be completed over the next 11 months. Yesterday, transport chiefs revealed the bridge’s launch could be celebrated with a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to cross its 1.7-mile span on foot. David Climie, project director for Transport Scotland, said full details on opening plans would be released by early autumn.

Timelapse video: building of the Queensferry Crossing