FIFTY thousand people completed a walk across the newly
opened Queensferry Crossing this weekend.
Many had the opportunity to meet with Scotland’s first minister
Nicola Sturgeon as they celebrated the completion of the 1.7-mile bridge which links
Fife and the Lothians.
The Scottish Government had formally invited all of those
chosen by ballot for their unique opportunity to cross the new bridge over the
Fifth of Forth.
The ballot attracted more than 250,000 applicants and 50,000
were given the one-off chance to walk it on Saturday and Sunday (September 2
and 3).
The first of the successful ballot winners to make the
journey set off under blue skies at 9am on Saturday led by Nicola Sturgeon
alongside the transport minister Humza Yousaf.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Importantly, this celebratory event
recognises the thousands of people who have been involved in the construction
of the bridge.
“The Queensferry Crossing is a symbol of a confident,
forward-looking Scotland and - as well as providing a vital transport connection
for many years to come - it is a truly iconic structure and a feat of modern
engineering.”
Shauna Killen, 45, from Anstruther, Fife, who took part with
her family, said: "It was absolutely fantastic, I got quite emotional
coming across it.
"I applied for the kids; it was just so amazing to
watch it being built over the last few years and hopefully they will remember being
a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience for a long time."
Sarah Colston, 29, from Edinburgh, crossed with her partner’s
family. She said: “It was so well organised we were picked-up by bus from our allocated
travel hub at South Gyle to the bridge and taken back when we reached the other
side.
“It was such a beautiful day so the views between wind
shields of the bridge looked even more pretty. Then at the end of the walk I
felt starstruck when we were met by our hero, the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.
“We have my partner’s dad to thank for entering us into the ballot. Apparently,
he has been excitedly watching the structure take shape over the last few years
and enjoyed marvelling at its construction.”
The £1.35 billion Queensferry Crossing was almost 10 years
in the planning, six years in the building and took 15,000 workers or the
equivalent of 20 million hours to construct.
Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) was the main
contractor responsible for the design and construction of the Queensferry
Crossing.
Project director Michael Martin said: “For civil engineers,
the chance to build a bridge of the sheer scale and engineering significance of
the Queensferry Crossing is a dream come true.
“For most of us, it will surely be a once-in-a-lifetime
project that, no matter what other challenges we go on to tackle in our
careers, will definitely be hard to match.
“I know from speaking to the FCBC team who have designed and
built this wonderful new bridge and its vital connecting roads that we are all
immensely proud of what has been achieved in such a short timescale.
“That pride is only increased when we see ‘our’ completed
bridge sitting alongside its neighbours, two of the most famous bridges in the
world.
“Building something like this, out in the middle of an
estuary in often very hostile weather conditions, you know major challenges
will be thrown at you on an almost daily basis.
“Some might say, ‘Well, that’s civil engineering for you’. True, but I am especially proud of the way
the members of the team have faced up to the challenges on this project and
overcome every one of them in such a skilled and professional manner.
“The Queensferry Crossing represents civil engineering at
its very finest.”
Many Scots have admired the bridge which was illuminated in
tartan lights at night ahead of its official opening to mark the handover from
the contractors to the Scottish Government.
The crossing - said to be nicknamed ‘Kevin’ by local children
in South Queensferry after the Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges - is the longest
three tower cable stayed bridge in the world.
Its centre tower was officially recognised by the Guinness
Book of World Records last October as being the longest, free-standing, balanced
cantilever ever built.
The new bridge, with its 120-year design life, has also been
built with 3.6m high wind shielding – which theoretically means it may never
have to close to high sided vehicles.
It opened to traffic on August 30 before it was closed to
vehicles for the celebrations and will have no pedestrian access when it
reopens to traffic on September 7.
Its predecessor the Forth Road Bridge closes for transition
work and during this time it will only be open to cyclists and pedestrians.
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