Three cards of the Constructional Engineering Union

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

34214

Title

Three cards of the Constructional Engineering Union, 1962-1963

Description

Three laminated membership cards of the Constructional Engineering Union belonging to James McKinley, a steel erector working on the construction of the Forth Road Bridge. One card is red and is threefold, and two cards are single double sided cards. All cards show dates of membership and payments into the Union by the cardholder.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1962

Type

Document

Location

Queensferry Museum

Accession number

QF.2007.6

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.

The earliest recorded ferry service was instigated by Queen Margaret in the 11th century, and remained a largely uninterrupted passenger service for 800 years. Increasing pressure from the growing road infrastructure led to the creation of the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board by Act of Parliament in 1947, and construction started in September 1958.

The ferry service ceased operation the same day as the bridge was opened, and the next day saw the first public transport routes using the bridge to link Edinburgh with Fife and beyond.

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

Other views of this item

Related images

Related subjects

Places > Edinburgh areas > South Queensferry

Places > Edinburgh Landmarks > Forth Rail Bridge

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh