THE Forth Road Bridge has been named as one of the most influential builds in the history of civil engineering.

The Institution of Civil Engineering (ICE) has featured the iconic structure in its top 200 world-changing projects.

Members of the institution and an expert panel put forward the grand design as the ICE marks its 200th anniversary.

Ewan Angus, major bridges director, Forth Bridges, commented: "Civil engineering gives you a chance to change the world; there aren’t many jobs where you can make a difference by changing people’s lives and changing the world for the better."

Completed in 1964, the bridge replaced a centuries-old ferry service carrying vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians across the Forth.

Sara Thiam, regional director ICE Scotland, said: "When the bridge had to close for urgent repairs in December 2015 its closure caused significant disruption to commuters and businesses with a 33 mile diversion for over 70,000 vehicles each day. The cost to the economy was estimated at £1m/day - an event of national significance. Now that the replacement crossing is open its reuse as a sustainable transport corridor means that this beautiful bridge will continue to serve Scotland for many years to come."

It was the fourth longest long-span suspension bridge in the world, and the longest outside the United States, when it opened.

The bridge's length meant the supporting cables had to be particularly strong; each cable is made up of 11,618 high tensile wires with a diameter of 4.98mm – more than enough wire to go all the way around the earth.

At its peak, the structure carried up to 80,000 vehicles a day.