Festivities are taking place this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic Forth Road Bridge in Scotland.

The 10 day Forth Bridges Festival started last Thursday and will culminate this Saturday with a bridge party featuring a torchlight procession and fireworks on the 2.5km road crossing.

The festival, which also focuses on the Forth railway bridge, looks to highlight the lasting impression and legacy of the bridges both locally and on Scotland as a whole.

Forth Estuary Transport Authority convener Lesley Hinds said: “The Forth Road Bridge was a huge engineering achievement for Scotland when it opened in 1964. In the 50 years since it has provided fantastic service, carrying over double the weight and volume of traffic envisaged by the engineers who designed it.”

When opened on 4 September 1964 the Forth Road Bridge became the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the USA.

Ten years ago the bridge authority discovered corrosion had resulted in an 8-10% loss of cable strength. Work to prevent further strength loss began immediately and plans were developed for the nearby Queensferry Crossing, currently under construction.

The new bridge is set to open in 2016 after which the Forth Road Bridge will be used only by buses, taxis, pedestrians and cyclists.

Provost of Fife councillor Jim Leishman said: “The 50th birthday of the Forth Road Bridge is an ideal opportunity to take time to learn about the rich history of the bridges.”

• A piece about the work of Forth Road Bridge chief engineer Barry Colford is included in Transportation Professional’s September issue, to be published shortly.

Photo: andrum99, via Creative Commons  

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