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Steel worker working on the Forth Road Bridge site
Unknown, 1963, Photograph
Item
of 3252
Steel worker working on the Forth Road Bridge site
Steel worker working on the Forth Road Bridge site
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Category
Museums & Galleries Item
Item no
34233
Title
Steel worker working on the Forth Road Bridge construction
Description
A photograph of steel worker James McKinley working on the incomplete Forth Road Bridge. He is sitting on the end of a beam waiting for the final connecting beam to be lowered so he can rivet them together to complete the bridge's span. In the background can be seen the Rail Bridge and the pier of North Queensferry.
Artist / maker
Unknown
Date
1963
Type
Photograph
Location
Queensferry Museum
The men working on the both Forth bridges took enormous risks, working at height above the freezing waters of the Firth of Forth and often in strong winds and rain. However, by the time the road bridge was under construction, more precautions were taken; whereas 60 men died working on the Rail bridge, the deathtoll on the road bridge was 7. As we see in this photograph, at times workers on the bridge threw caution to the wind for that perfect photograph pose!
The Forth Road Bridge was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 4th September 1964 after six years of construction. The bridge was built to respond to increasing volume of traffic in the region. Prior to the bridge, the nearest crossing was the Kincardine Bridge upstream, or a ferry service linking North and South Queensferry.
By the 1990s increasing concerns about the structural wear and tear of the bridge led to the eventual agreement to begin construction, in September 2011, of a third bridge at Queensferry, named by public vote the Queensferry Crossing. This new road bridge is due to open in 2016.
Exhibitions with this item
Forth Road Bridge and Queensferry Crossing
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Edinburgh areas
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South Queensferry
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Forth Road Bridge
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Edinburgh
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