Contractors building the new £790m bridge have had to battle against harsh weather condition seeing the completion date pushed back twice.

Forth Road Crossing Bridge Constructors – which consist of Hochtief, American Bridge, Dragados and Galliford Try  – were originally due to open last December but suffered delays because of unusually high winds on the project.

Over 13 million hours have gone into building the Queensferry Crossing over the past six years.

The bridge features pioneering new windshielding, which should almost entirely eliminate the need for closures during the frequent periods of high winds in the Forth estuary.

Michael Martin, Project Director for the consortium building the Queensferry Crossing, Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, said: “The Queensferry Crossing is one of the world’s great bridges.

“It’s the largest bridge of its type and its fast track design and construction has presented many challenges.

“The safety of our workforce, who have worked relentlessly through the hostile weather conditions in the Forth estuary to deliver the earliest completion of this project, has always been our number one priority and it will continue to be so as move towards the completion of the project.”