The Queensferry Crossing is up for an international engineering award.
Scots are being urged to vote for it, or the other Scottish candidate, to win the Institution of Civil Engineers People’s Choice Award, which celebrates civil engineering projects that have had a positive impact for their local communities.
The £1.35 billion Queensferry Crossing and the Shieldhall tunnel sewer superstructure in Glasgow are competing against projects including Hong Kong harbour, Hyderabad Metro Rail project in India, and the rural access programme in Nepal.
Scotland won the first ICE People’s Choice Award in 2016 for repair work to the Forth Road Bridge.
This year’s award includes international projects for the first time to mark the ICE’s bicentenary.
The new Forth bridge safeguards a vital connection in Scotland’s transport network.
It’s the longest three tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world boasting the tallest towers of any bridge in the UK.
Its importance to the Scottish economy became apparent when the Forth Road Bridge, which it replaced, had to close for vital repairs in 2015.
New wind shields mean that the new bridge is less likely to close during high winds.
Roy Brannen, Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, said: “The process of creating this huge project has been a full 10 years in the making.
“The new bridge is already delivering on its objective of providing a more reliable crossing over the Forth for the 78,000 vehicles that use it each day.
“The sheer scale of this project is impressive with the watertight chamber, which enabled the building of the south tower foundation the same height as the Statue of Liberty.
“The 15,000 people involved in building the Queensferry Crossing worked over 15 million hours achieving two engineering world records in the process.
“We hope the Scottish public will recognise their hard work, dedication and world class expertise by voting for them.”
Sara Thiam, ICE regional director, said: “Civil engineering directly transforms people’s everyday lives, shaping the world and safeguarding our future.
“The fact that two Scottish projects have been included in a global shortlist demonstrates our continued reputation for engineering excellence.”
Voting at www.ice.org.uk/Peopleschoiceaward will close at 5pm on September 28.
