Deck Lifting Begins

Images of the new Queensferry Crossing have been released to highlight the progress being made in the Firth of Forth.

Engineers have welded the deck segments together and have started to put them in place, while deck lifting has also begun.

The £1.4 billion bridge is due for completion in 2016.

Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown said: “On the Queensferry Crossing deck lifting began in earnest and will see the filling of the gaps between the bridge’s towers.

“This is the start of some spectacular engineering and as work progresses with further sections of deck lifted and cables attached, it will become even more of a remarkable sight.

“While the weather has been poor this year, especially wind conditions on the Forth, this is further evidence of the great job the workforce is doing to make such progress on the new bridge.

“All of these projects are examples of our record levels of investment in infrastructure and all of these projects are delivering significant opportunities for business and economic development.

“Looking more widely at our investment programme, as the First Minister confirmed in the Programme for Government, we will publish an updated Infrastructure Investment Plan later in the year.

“The Scottish economy has seen eleven consecutive quarters of growth, including Quarter 1 of 2015. Within that, Scottish Construction sector output saw very strong growth throughout 2014, reflected in the latest annual GVA growth figure of just over 21%.

“Public sector investment made a very significant contribution to that growth and our plans to update the IIP underline the strength of the Scottish Government’s long term commitment to infrastructure investment in Scotland.”