Police plans in place for '˜soft' bridge opening

In a bid to prevent a pile-up for what is hoped to be a ‘soft-opening’, the authorities will only confirm that the £1.3billion bridge is to open in the “early hours of Wednesday morning”.

The working plan is for the northbound lanes to open first, followed by the southbound lanes 45 minutes later.

There will be no opportunity for cars to stop or queue up in advance of the road barriers being removed.

The Press understands that instead a moving police convoy will slow down traffic already approaching the Forth Road Bridge and instead lead the first cars over the new crossing.

Inspector Peter Houston of Police Scotland’s Roads Policing Unit said: “The opening of the Queensferry Crossing is a landmark event for Scotland and we are supporting Transport Scotland to ensure that the crossing opens in a safe and organised manner on Wednesday, August 30.

“As the opening of the crossing approaches we would advise members of the public who currently use the Forth Road Bridge to think about what changes will occur to their journey and to allow for extra travel time as traffic levels adjust.

“Anyone wishing to find out more about opening of the Queensferry Crossing can visit www.theforthbridges.org or for real time updates follow @FRC_Queensferry and @trafficscotland on Twitter.”