New and exclusive footage showing the building of the Queensferry Crossing has gone live.
Digital archive the Queensferry Crossing Arc allows visitors to explore the £1.35 billion bridge which is due to open later this year.
Included on the website are 3D animations based on detailed scans of the crossing and more than an hour of video footage taken since the beginning of construction in 2011.
There are also exclusive interviews with staff who explain the various stages of construction and images of building work.
The public can also submit pictures to the site, which becomes the new home of the Frame the Bridge digital mosaic made up of selfies sent in since 2015.
Economy Secretary Keith Brown said that excitement and interest in the Queensferry Crossing kept growing as the project nears completion.
“The new bridge is already fast becoming Scotland’s newest icon and it is fitting that we now have such a fantastic digital archive available to explain how it was built,” he said.
Mr Brown said he found footage and pictures of the building of the Forth Road Bridge and Forth Bridge, more than 50 and 125 years ago respectively, fascinating to watch.
“This website has used some of the latest methods to capture how the Queensferry Crossing has been built and will provide an important record and learning tool for future generations.
“It’s like an interactive film and picture album rolled into one,” he said.
“We’ve always said that building a bridge wasn’t the limit to this project, we also need to ensure a learning legacy is forged from the inspirational, iconic Queensferry Crossing.
“That is the ambition of the Arc.”
The 3D scans are the first product of the Transport Scotland-funded project to laser scan the trio of bridges.
Cutting edge work was carried out by the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation, a partnership between Glasgow School of Art and Historic Environment Scotland.
The art school’s Alastair Rawlinson said: “We were presented with a unique opportunity to digitally document the bridge in 3D as it was being constructed.
“This allowed the team, working in conjunction with engineering experts, to create an incredibly accurate 3D model and animation showing all construction phases.
“We hope people will enjoy learning about the bridge through visiting the website and watching the animations.”
