‘Bridge tourists’ cause traffic jams on the Queensferry Crossing Motorists have been left facing long delays on the Queensferry Crossing on its opening day due to an influx of […]

Motorists have been left facing long delays on the Queensferry Crossing on its opening day due to an influx of “bridge tourists” desperate to experience it for themselves.

Scotland’s new £1.3bn bridge over the Firth of Forth opened to traffic for the first time in the early hours of Wednesday morning – but during rush hour queues had formed in both directions.

“There are large additional volumes of traffic on the Queensferry Crossing with drivers wanting to experience the new bridge for themselves” The i newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription. Transport Scotland

Travel monitoring service Traffic Scotland said many people were “visiting” the bridge on its opening day, adding: “This is not just commuters heading for work”.

It Tweeted a picture of a group of motorcyclists, some of whom were carrying Saltire flags, saying they were among “lots” of people who wanted to be among the first to cross the bridge.

LOTS of visitors experiencing @FRC_Queensferry❗ Delays on all approaches – #PlanAhead Traffic Scotland thanks you for your patience ♥ pic.twitter.com/C8JR8igOjV — Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) August 30, 2017

The tailbacks were also caused by the temporary 40mph speed limit on the Queensferry Crossing, which has been introduced to take account of “driver distraction”.

The 1.7-mile long crossing, which is replacing the ageing Forth Road Bridge, will eventually have a speed limit of 70mph thanks to its smooth surface and effective wind shields.

Breakdown

The bridge also experienced its first breakdown when a lorry stopped at around 7am, but the driver was able to guide the vehicle onto the hard shoulder.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “As predicted, due to the popularity of this new bridge, there are large additional volumes of traffic on the Queensferry Crossing with drivers wanting to experience the new bridge for themselves, in addition to the normal morning commuter traffic.

“The bridge itself remained free flowing despite an early breakdown. The driver involved was able to make use of the new hard shoulder and was assisted off the bridge by our Trunk Road Incident Support Service.”

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“Although we are aware of delays on approach roads to the crossing, these are mainly down to the volume of traffic and drivers getting used to the new road layout.”

The first cars drove over the new bridge shortly before 2am on Wednesday. A long procession followed police vehicles, with many honking their horns and blowing whistles as they travelled over the bridge.

Economy Secretary Keith Brown was among the first to make the crossing, saying he immediately noticed that there was no repetitive “slap slap slap” noise due to the smoother surface.