Story so far: six years of non-stop progress

When it opens, the Queensferry Crossing will take its place as the third iconic bridge spanning the Firth of Forth. The three bridges each represent some of the very highest feats of civil engineering achieved in the three different centuries in which they were built.

As the bridge takes shape above the water line – a sight that gets ever more spectacular on an almost daily basis – it’s remarkable to think this project was given the green light by Scottish Ministers as recently as December 2007. Three short years later, a complex and cutting-edge design had been completed by a world-class team; a huge public consultation and engagement exercise undertaken; a high-profile Parliamentary Bill successfully passed and awaiting Royal Assent and one of the biggest procurement exercises ever undertaken in Scotland was nearly complete. Leap ahead another three years and, by the end of 2013, two of the construction contracts were finished and the Principal Contract to build the bridge and connecting roads would be nearing the halfway point, still very much on-schedule despite the often unforgiving climate and conditions in the Forth estuary.

Progressing at that rate is remarkable, perhaps even unprecedented for a project of this scale in the UK - six years from the debating chamber in Holyrood to all three bridge towers appearing well above the water line.

Not that there’s ever much time for reflection out on site but here is the story so far of the Queensferry Crossing and the Forth Replacement Crossing project.