Queensferry Crossing

The joys of retirement meant that we could go across the new bridge over the River Forth, this afternoon on its opening day. It really is rather beautiful, and the longest of its type (1.7 miles) in the world  -  it certainly seemed very long.
There were lots of people doing as we did and going "There and back again to see how far it was" as my father would have said, although we did miss the long queues of earlier in the day. It is much quieter than the old bridge, that one had a thump every few yards as you drove over the expansion joints.
It will be great to get rid of the 10 mile stretch of 40mph which has been in place for the last few years and will speed people’s journeys quite a bit.
The bridge came in under budget and caused remarkably little disruption to the major north / south road network on this side of the country, a great addition to the bridges over the Forth.
I had heard it was not on Google maps, but I've checked and it is there now, so hopefully people won't get too lost. It is going to close again tomorrow, people with tickets will have a one off opportunity to walk over it on Saturday and Sunday and then the Queen will open it on Monday, the anniversary of the date when she opened the first Forth Road Bridge in 1964. After that the new bridge will take all traffic except buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians, who will continue to use the old bridge.