A £10 MILLION project to fix major repairs on the Forth Road Bridge is now complete.

Engineering firm Spencer Group carried out the work after a major fault was discovered in December 2015.

One of the eight truss end links on the bridge was found to have fractured, causing the bridge to be closed completely for more than three weeks while the urgent repairs took place.

A temporary splint was applied to the fractured link, followed by a permanent structural repair to that area.

Bridge owner Transport Scotland subsequently decided to replace the other seven key links and, following a tender process, selected Spencer Group to complete the work.

Gary Thornton, Spencer Group Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to have completed this important project to maintain the structural integrity of the Forth Road Bridge and to add it to our extensive track record over many years of delivering critical, high-level works on landmark crossings.

“The project showcased the expertise we bring to works such as this, which pose a range of major challenges. The solutions we put in place ensured critical components were replaced without having to interrupt traffic flows at any time.”

The £10 million scheme involved cutting out the truss end links and replacing them with a unique new sliding bearing system.

It required a series of complex works to be delivered to a part of the bridge which has limited accessibility and was never designed with replacement in mind.

The project posed multiple challenges, with the engineering group working in confined spaces within the main towers and manoeuvring large new structural components to precise tolerances.

The replacement bearings were delivered to the bridge from a workboat, so the works had to be co-ordinated with tide times within the busy Forth estuary.

Ensuring effective communication via two-way radios was crucial, with engineers working below the bridge deck having to contend with significant noise and vibration as traffic passed above them.