Forth Road Bridge

The Forth Road Bridge is a suspension bridge in east central Scotland. The bridge opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world outside the United States. The bridge spans the Firth of Forth, connecting Edinburgh, at South Queensferry, to Fife, at North Queensferry. It replaced a centuries-old ferry service to carry vehicular traffic, cyclists and pedestrians across the Forth; railway crossings are made by the nearby Forth Bridge, opened in 1890.

For the adjacent railway bridge, see Forth Bridge. For the film, see The Forth Road Bridge. For the second road bridge over the Firth of Forth, see Queensferry Crossing.

Forth Road Bridge
The Forth Road Bridge from South Queensferry in October 2002.
Coordinates56°00′03″N 03°24′15″W
Carries
  • Motor vehicles (A9000 road)
  • Cyclists (National Cycle Route 1)
  • Pedestrians
  • Driverless buses
CrossesFirth of Forth
LocaleEdinburgh and Fife, Scotland
Official nameForth Road Bridge
Maintained byTransport Scotland
Characteristics
DesignSuspension bridge
Total length2,512 m (8,241 ft)
Width33 m (108 ft) dual two-lane carriageway, two cycle/footpaths
Height156 m (512 ft)
Longest span1,006 m (3,301 ft)
Clearance below44.3 m (145 ft)
History
Constructed by
Opened4 September 1964
Statistics
Daily traffic65,000 vpd (2012 figures)
TollFree since 11 February 2008
Location

The Scottish Parliament voted to scrap tolls on the bridge from February 2008. The adjacent Queensferry Crossing was opened in August 2017 to carry the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth, replacing the Forth Road Bridge which had exceeded its design capacity. At its peak, the Forth Road Bridge carried 65,000 vehicles per day.

The Forth Road Bridge was subsequently closed for repairs and refurbishment. It reopened in February 2018, now redesignated as a dedicated Public Transport Corridor, with access to motor vehicles other than buses and taxis restricted; pedestrians and cyclists are still permitted to use the bridge. In May 2023, Stagecoach Fife started the first driverless bus service to carry passengers in the United Kingdom along a park-and-ride route which includes the Forth Road Bridge as its main section.

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