Twin towers: New Forth bridge’s giant caissons arrive

THE £1.6 billion Forth Replacement Crossing’s biggest parts yet have arrived in Rosyth – giant caissons the height of eight-storey flats.

The steel tubes, up to 107ft high, will be sunk into the Forth this summer as part of foundations for the bridge’s 700ft-high towers.

The caissons passed under the Forth Road Bridge, which has a 150ft clearance, en route from Gdansk in Poland on Saturday. They weigh up to 1,200 tonnes and are 100ft wide. Some 400 people are working on the project, which will increase to 1,200 ahead of its completion in 2016.

SNP cites the bridge’s construction as an example of the Scottish government bringing forward big public works to both stimulate the economy and create jobs.

The crossing was ordered after concerns were raised about the long-term strength of the existing bridge, to its east, due to corrosion of its main cable.