City Of Edinburgh - The Kingdom Of Fife City Of Edinburgh - The Kingdom Of Fife The Loch Ness Monster Local Cities Edinburgh is the Capital City of Scotland and home to the devolved Scottish Parliament. It's the second largest city in Scotland and seventh most densly populated city in the United Kingdom. It's easily accessible from Fife by means of the Forth Rail Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge. Prior to the existence of these bridges, travel to Edinburgh often meant usage of a ferry service first established in the eleventh century by Margaret, queen consort of King Malcolm Canmore III and where the deeply pious Margaret wanted a ferry service to transport religious pilgrims from Edinburgh to Dunfermline Abbey and St Andrews. This led to the establishment of two towns, namely North Queensferry (in Fife) and South Queensferry (in Lothian). The ferry continued to operate for eight hundred years until the day when the Forth Road Bridge was opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinbrgh on 4th September 1964.

The Forth Rail Bridge The unique World famous cantilever structure (pictured above during its centenary year) was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, and built by Sir William Arrol & Co. between 1883 and 1890. It was opened on 4th March 1890 and was the first major structure to be entirely built of steel in Britain. During it's construction, over four hundred and fifty construction workers were injured and ninety-eight fatalities occurred. It required 64,800 tons of high grade steel to build it and these came from two steel plants in Scotland with further supplies from another based in Wales and all using the recently developed Siemens-Martin process to ensure consistent quality of the steel. The popular phrase 'like painting the Forth Bridge' meant reference to a task that was never completed. It was a widely held belief that a team of painters were permanently engaged in the process of flaking away old paint and applying new paint; a process that apparently took four years and when completed; the team would start all over again.

This was never the case but recent metal analysis of the bridge has shown it to be quite solid and after the recent application of new technology paints, the bridge continues to be in regular service with many trains crossing over it every hour of every day. Given its present state, most engineers foresee a future use of between twenty-five and forty years. By any standard, the iconic size, shape and structure is instantly recogniseable as a tribute to design and engineering skill as well as being one of the most remarkeable engineering feats in Scotand with more than a century of service to it's credit! The Forth Road Bridge When decisions about the Forth Road Bridge came to be considered. The result was a bridge where the central main span is over one thousand metres long with a total length just exceeding two thousand five hundred metres. At the time of its construction, it was fourth largest span in the World and the longest outside of the United States of America. The bridge comprises 39,000 tonnes of steel and 115,000 cubic metres of concrete. Its width comprises a dual carriageway road with cycle and footpaths.

The main strung cables are nearly 600mm in diameter and each carries 13,800 tonnes of the bridge's load by means of 11,618 5mm diameter high tensile wires. Originally designed to last one hundred and twenty years and conceived as a toll bridge handling about 30,000 vehicles per day in both directions, this capacity was and has been regularly exceed in recent times and where corrosion problems highlighted in similar bridge structures elsewhere in the World has prompted exhaustive testing, examination and re-evalution. Tolls were scrapped on 11th February 2008 and this has accelerated usage. It is currently believed within engineering circles that bridges of this type may have lost between 8-10% of their weight carrying ability and the Forth Bridge has not been granted any special favour in this. Although measures have been taken to slow the corrosion effects, and including usage of humidifiers and other technology, it is currently thought that traffic limitations of some kind may be necessary from about 2013 onwards and where debate concerning a future replacement bridge has already begun.

Edinburgh City As stated elsewhere on this web site, there is no desire to repeat information already prominently displayed elsewhere on the Internet and this is particularly true of Scottish cities and where a plethora of data already exists. The exceptions are where something of keen interest exist and is of unique value to readers of this web site. In the case of Edinburgh, much more information can be found on the EdinburghGuide.Com website. Credits: Photographs by Open Source and Author. Text by Alandon Welcome to the Kingdom of Fife - The Kingdom Of Fife Welcome to the Kingdom of Fife - The Kingdom Of Fife Welcome to the Kingdom of Fife Welcome To Fife Close proximity to Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth complimented by easy road and rail links to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness make Fife an idyllic base for visitors intent on exploring the natural beauty of the Scottish nation. The Fife Region is still referred to in common palance as a Kingdom since it retains boundaries existing from the Pictish tribal era and long before national states of Scotland, England or even Britain came into existence. At that time, the area was known as Fib, one of the seven Pictish Kingdoms.

Around the sixth century, the Gaelic language became popular in many parts of Scotland and where the region became known as Phyffe. In the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066, this was anglicised to the current name of Fife. In terms of demographics, Fife is the smallest administrative region within the devolved Scottish Parliament of the United Kingdom and has a population of about 350,000 people. There are no cities in Fife itself but the region lies centrally between the cities of Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth.

Distance From Glenrothes St Andrews: The Home Of Golf 23 Edinburgh: Current Scottish Capital City 33 Dundee: The City Of Discovery 24 Perth: Diamond Jubilee City 2012 24 Stirling: Site of the Battle of Bannockburn 46 Aberdeen: Scottish Oil Capital City 94 Kirkcaldy: Birthplace of Adam Smith 7 Berwick: Southern Border of Scotland 94 Kirkwall: HQ of the Orkney Isles 288 Lerwick: HQ of the Shetland Isles 309 Wick: Home of Caithness Glass 236 Stornoway: Major Town In the Hebrides 241 John O'Groats: Northern Mainland Point 259 450 724 Located near the centre of Fife, Glenrothes is the administrative capital of the region. The table on the right offers a rough guide as regards distance from this centre to other locations in Scotland and elsewhere.

All three major towns in Fife are linked by the A92 regional road and which begins initially leading off Junction 3 of the M90 after crossing the Forth Road Bridge when travelling from the South. It's a dual carriageway road until venturing about three miles north of Glenrothes and where it reverts to a regular opposing two lane road ultimately leading across the Tay Bridge to Dundee. The only motorway in Fife is the M90, starting at the Forth Road Bridge then heading directly North towards the City of Perth. Most of the two thousand five hundred miles of roads in Fife are of the conventional two opposing lane type regularly employed throughout the United Kingdom. The main 'East Coast' rail line from Kings Cross in London runs through the centre of Fife and terminates in Aberdeen. The nearest airport is Edinburgh. Fife is perhaps best known as the 'home of golf' and where this popular sport began on the coastal links of St Andrews. The 'Royal and Ancient' draws many golfers to the University town each year and the seventh oldest golf course in the World, designed by the same people, is nearby at Crail.

There are about forty golf courses in the region to choose from and a golf museum and academy! Naturally if not particularly enamoured by Golf, Fife has many wonderful sightseeing locations, live theatres, museums, cinemas and a variety of entertainment venues to meet a wide range of preferences and interests. Our location makes Fife an ideal base from which to explore a substantial part of Scotland on a day trip basis. Many of these are featured on this web site although we've deliberately ignored many city attractions since these are often well served by other web sites pertaining to these cities. FifeServe is often largely about presentation of new, 'sometimes offbeat' subjects and material rather than mere repetition and often deliberately seeking a different perspective. Welcome to FifeServe.Com In this latest issue of FifeServe, I'm still trying to edit and update some of the previous material and realise just how big this web site has become and where expansion of core material should have taken precedence over others. Some degree of pruning is thus necessary and will take place before publication of the next issue. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Editor, FifeServe.Com It's a region with quite a few hidden gems of its own but where the local residents are blessed with all the benefits of such close proximity to four of Scotland's major cities. It's a major factor offering many choices like live evening entertainment and includes nearby access to airports with International arrivals and destinations, main line rail links and splendid road communication. Fife has a regular ferry services to Europe sailing from the port of Rosyth. Fife is a penisula reaching out from the heart of Scotland and jutting out into the North Sea with the Tay Estuary to the North and the Firth of Forth to the South. Such close proximity to the sea on three sides tends to mean that our local weather patterns are more moderate and far less extreme than most other parts of the United Kingdom. Forth Rail Bridge, Firth of Forth - Railway Technology An original rivet used for the Forth Bridge. Forth Rail Bridge, Firth of Forth, Scotland Forth Bridge was the most prominent steel structure when it became operational in 1890. The cantilever railway bridge was built across the Firth of Forth at Queensferry, 14km west of Edinburgh.

It still continues to remain a significant and admirable engineering structure of the Victorian era. "The painting work on the whole Forth Rail Bridge was completed in December 2011 and is expected to last for 25 years." The 8,296ft long railway bridge acts as a significant thoroughfare connecting the north-east and south-east of Scotland. The bridge primarily connects the cities of Edinburgh and Fife and further leads to Dundee and Aberdeen. It is located adjacent to the newly constructed Forth Road Bridge. The bridge was designed by Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker and built by Sir William Arrol & Co, a Glasgow-based company. Much credit, however, has been given to Sir Benjamin Baker and his co-worker Allan Stewart for designing and supervising the construction work. The bridge is owned by Network Rail and is used by ScotRail and other intercity services. It was refurbished and repainted in 2011, by Balfour Beatty.

Origins of Scotland's famous Forth Bridge The plan to construct the Forth Bridge was brought up after a former project to construct a suspension railway bridge at the Firth of Forth, designed by Sir Thomas Bouch, was halted because of the collapse of the Tay Bridge at the Firth of Tay in 1879, which was also built under his supervision. Authorisation and contracts to build the Forth Bridge were given in 1882, with the acceptance of the cantilever structure designed by Fowler and Baker. The bridge was designed to withstand strong winds, as the Tay Bridge had collapsed because of such weather conditions. Construction work commenced with the capital for construction funded by Midland Railway (32.5%), North British Railway (30%), North Eastern Railway (18.75%) and Great Northern Railway (18.75%). The total cost for constructing the bridge was estimated to be £3.2m. The bridge was first tested and used in January 1890, where two 1,000ft long trains consisting of a locomotive with 50 wagons each passed across the bridge side-by-side through the south entrance.

Forth Rail Bridge was finally commissioned in March 1890. Design and construction of the railway bridge Forth Bridge is 8,296ft long, with trains passing through the double track at a height of 158ft and the towers, which reach a height of 361ft. The two main spans of the bridge are 1,710ft, the two side spans are 680ft and the 15 approach spans are 168ft. The bridge consists of three separate four-tower high, double-cantilevers which are joined by 350ft long girders and connected to the main structure of the bridge by huge rivets. The cantilevers are supported by granite piers. The river bed at the south cantilever, which is 91ft below the high-water level, made use of compressed air to stop water pouring into the working chamber at the base, while the other cantilevers were constructed using caissons measuring 70ft in diameter. Foundations were constructed using cylinders which were lowered using sandbags. Working chambers were created to pump compressed air, whereas airlocks and airshafts provided access for men and materials.

Bridge construction was carried in two phases. The first phase which was carried out from 1882 to 1885 involved works on the substructure, including sinking the caissons and constructing the foundations and piers to support the superstructure. The superstructure, which weighs about 51,324t, was built from 1886 to 1890. Altogether, the construction of the bridge made use of 54,000t of steel, 20,950 cubic metres of granite, 6,780 cubic metres of stone, 49,200 cubic metres of concrete, 50t of cement and seven million rivets. Steel used for the construction was manufactured by Frederick Siemens (England) and Pierre and Emile Martin (France). Construction work was carried out by approximately 5,000 workers. Balfour Beatty's major refurbishment project The painting work on the whole Forth Rail Bridge was completed in December 2011 and is expected to last for 25 years. "The bridge is owned by Network Rail and is used by ScotRail and other intercity services.

It was refurbished and repainted in 2011, by Balfour Beatty." The refurbishment contract worth £40m was first awarded to Railtrack in 1996 after which works began in 1998. Railtrack gave up the refurbishment contract in 2002 due to financial reasons. Balfour Beatty then took up the refurbishment work under a £130m contract. Under the ten year project Balfour Beatty carried out the refurbishment works which included the repairing of the steels, coating of the surface, improvements to the access of the bridge and upgradation of the flood lightings. The company used a method of blasting the old layers of paint which enabled the steel to be repaired. Zinc-based primer of 35 microns was used to prevent corrosion and 400 microns of glass flake epoxy intermediate coating was used to act as a barrier, after which 35 microns of polyurethane gloss top coat was used to provide the finishing touches. The work involved up to 1,500 people at its peak, with an average of 400 people working on the bridge daily.

Balfour Beatty used Pyeroy for the painting work and Harsco Infrastructure for the scaffolding work. Scaffolding work included enclosing the bridge in up to 4,000t of scaffolding by reversing the established ground-up approach. The access platforms were enclosed in plastic sheeting to avoid paint being blasted into the environment and to protect the glass flake paints while drying. The painting work was done by shot-blasting the previous paint layers and applying primer, glass flake and polyurethane coatings. Vital was appointed as the subcontractor for the automated track warning system (ATWS), safety maintenance, support and safety road rail vehicles (RRVs). Rolling stock and cargo traffic on the Forth Rail Bridge The railway bridge carried about 30,000 passenger trains in 1907 with a gross weight of 14.6 million tons, while in 2000 the bridge carried about 54,080 passenger trains and 6,240 freight trains with a gross weight of about ten million tons. The bridge witnesses 190 to 200 train movements on a daily basis.

It provides about 150ft of space for ships and boats to ferry underneath it. Share Fife business - Forth Bridge Forth Bridge enquiries About In early 2014 an application was submitted to UNESCO in an attempt to have the Forth Bridge inscribed as a World Heritage Site and this was granted on 5 July 2015. The Forth Bridge joins The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, New Lanark, St Kilda, the Antonine Wall and The Heart of Neolithic Orkney as Scotland's sixth World Heritage Site. It was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Prince of Wales (who became King Edward VII). By way of marking the occasion, he hammered in the last rivet, which was duly gold plated. The bridge connects Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh (at Dalmeny), with Fife (at North Queensferry). Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker designed the structure that was built by Glasgow based company Sir William Arrol & Co. Baker and his colleague Allan Stewart received the major credit for the design and overseeing the building work. The bridge was the first major structure in Britain to be constructed of steel.

By comparison, its contemporary the Eiffel Tower was built of wrought iron. At the time of its building, the Forth Bridge had the longest single cantilever bridge span in the world, at 2,528.7 metres (8,296 ft). It's now been overtaken by just one bridge, the Quebec Bridge in 1917. The use of a cantilever in bridge design was not a new idea, but the scale of Baker's undertaking had never been seen before. A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported only on one end. Large cantilever bridges are designed to handle road or rail traffic using trusses built from structural steel, or box girders built from prestressed concrete. Much of the work done was without precedent, including calculations for incidence of erection stresses (the internal forces exerted on structural members during construction), calculations for wind pressures and the effect of temperature stresses on the structure. These days modern trains put fewer stresses on the bridge than the earlier steam trains, however the bridge still needs constant maintenance.

Up to 200 trains cross the bridge per day, and they must travel within speed limits of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) for passenger trains and 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) for freight trains. The weight limit for any train on the bridge is 1,422 tonnes. Facts and fame The Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland describes the Forth Bridge as 'the one immediately and internationally recognised Scottish landmark'. The expression 'painting the Forth Bridge' is often used as a metaphor for a never-ending task because many believe that at one time the repainting of the bridge started immediately after completion of the previous repaint. This is not true, however and it has been confirmed that such a practice never actually existed. The bridge features in Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film The 39 Steps and again (even more prominently) in the 1959 remake. About Directions By rail The closest railway stations to the Forth bridges are North Queensferry on the Fife side of the Forth and Dalmeny (serving South Queensferry) to the south of the Forth Bridge.

First ScotRail services stop at these stations and take approximately 20 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley and about 15 minutes from Dunfermline Town. There are reduced services in evenings and on weekends. By air Edinburgh International Airport, with regular domestic and international flights, is approximately 7 miles south of the Forth bridges. By car The A90 is the route that crosses the Forth Road Bridge. From the north, follow the M90 southbound, which merges with the A90 outside Inverkeithing before continuing across the road bridge. From the south, follow the A90 out of Edinburgh or the M90 northbound, which merges with the A90 onto the Forth Road Bridge. By bus There are regular bus services to both North and South Queensferry from Edinburgh, Edinburgh Airport and Dunfermline. There are a number of bus services that stop at the south end of the Forth Road Bridge, South Queensferry town centre, North Queensferry town centre and/or the Ferrytoll Park and Ride just a 4-minute taxi ride from North Queensferry.

On foot Pedestrians can travel to the historic towns of North and South Queensferry, from which the footpaths on the Forth Road Bridge can be accessed. By boat Boat trips are available from South Queensferry that take visitors up the Firth of Forth and under the bridges. More details can be found on the VisitScotland website. Pricing Forth Bridge | ClipArt ETC Forth Bridge 2400×484 | (676.0 KB) Description The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 km (9 miles) west of central Edinburgh. It is often called the Forth Rail Bridge or Forth Railway Bridge to distinguish it from the Forth Road Bridge, but should correctly be referred to as the Forth Bridge. The bridge connects Scotland's capital Edinburgh with the Kingdom of Fife, and acts as a major artery connecting the north-east and south-east of the country. Described as "the one internationally recognised Scottish landmark", it may be nominated by the British government as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The bridge and its associated railway infrastructure is owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Limited. Keywords 1000+ images about FORTH RAIL BRIDGE on Pinterest | Parks, Edinburgh scotland and Photographs Forth Rail Bridge Across The Firth Of Forth Canvas Print / Canvas Art by Anna Henly ✮ Iconic Forth Rail Bridge, crossing the Firth of Forth near Edinburgh More About the FRC project | Transport Scotland Home » Road » Forth Replacement Crossing » About the FRC project About the FRC project The Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC) is a major infrastructure project for Scotland, designed to safeguard a vital connection in the country's transport network. Public transport Overview The FRC scheme includes construction of the Queensferry Crossing , a new three-tower, cable-stayed bridge between Fife and Edinburgh. But the scheme is actually much larger than the bridge alone. It has a 13.7 mile (22km) footprint which includes major improvements to the surrounding road networks on the north and south of the Forth. Despite significant investment and maintenance over its lifetime, the current Forth Road Bridge is showing signs of deterioration and is not suitable as the long-term main crossing of the Firth of Forth.

The FRC project will safeguard and improve this vital cross-Forth connection. Did you know? The Queensferry Crossing will be the longest three-tower cable stayed bridge in the world The Queensferry Crossing is the tallest bridge in the United Kingdom It is estimated construction will involve approximately 10 million man hours Construction began in earnest in Autumn 2011 following the completion of a two-year procurement process that delivered significant savings on the scheme’s original expected cost. The three main contracts that make up the FRC project were awarded in the Spring and Summer of 2011, with all three successful bids coming in under budget. Lower than expected costs of these contracts means the total estimated cost range of delivering the FRC project is now £1.325 billion to £1.35 billion, a substantial reduction on the previous estimate of £1.7 billion to £2.3 billion. Two of the three main contracts are now complete, delivering early benefits to motorists and local communities in Fife, Edinburgh and West Lothian. The FRC project will be delivered in May 2017. About the bridge Did you know?

the new Queensferry Crossing includes 23,000 miles of cabling – enough to wrap around the Moon three and half times and very nearly enough to span the circumference of Earth! the steel required for the bridge deck (final design) weighs a total of 35,000 tonnes. That’s the equivalent weight of 80 Boeing 747s the combined steel required for North and South Viaducts weighs 7,000 tonnes, enough to make another 23 Kelpies it will be 207 metres above high tide (683ft), equivalent to approximately 22 London buses stacked end-to-end and 50 metres (25%) higher than the existing Forth Road Bridge (FRB) the new cable-stayed bridge will have three slender single column towers and will be 1.7miles (2.7km) long, including approach viaducts. The road carried by the bridge will be designated as a motorway This innovative cable arrangement provides extra strength and stiffness while the deck and towers can be narrow and elegant.

The bridge deck will carry two general lanes of traffic in each direction and hard shoulders to ensure that breakdowns, incidents and any maintenance works do not cause the severe congestion which has been experienced on the FRB. The hard shoulders also provide the flexibility to carry buses displaced from the FRB during periods of high wind and other forms of public transport should it be required in the future. Windshielding on the new bridge will protect the crossing from the effects of wind and provide a more reliable corridor, particularly for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs). The bridge has been designed to complement the existing road and rail crossings and is the result of a rigorous assessment by an international team of architects and engineers. It was developed in consultation with Architecture and Design Scotland. View their report on the Architecture and Design Scotland website .

Key reliability features Windshielding will almost entirely eliminate the need for closures during the frequent periods of high winds in the Forth estuary – a significant resilience issue experienced with the current Forth Road Bridge which does not have any shielding Latest, most durable materials Cables can be replaced with more ease than on the Forth Road Bridge – it can be done as part of normal maintenance works without closing the bridge Dehumidification system inside the box girder reduces moisture, preventing corrosion Modern paint systems on the structure Thicker road surfacing with longer surface life which can be machine laid making it easier to replace Connecting roads While the new bridge will be the most eye-catching element of the FRC, the scheme also involves a major improvement to the trunk road network in the east of Scotland. A total of 12 miles (19.7km) of roads connecting to the bridge will be significantly upgraded and around 2.5 miles (4km) of completely new connecting roads will be built. The connecting roads strategy has been one of the major pieces of work undertaken by the FRC team and the final design is the result of a lengthy development process that included extensive consultation with communities and other stakeholders.

To the south of the bridge, a new motorway standard road will link the crossing to the A90 and M9, making use of the M9 Spur (now renamed M90). The M9 Junction 1a contract was completed in February 2013 and has remodeled and improved the junction with the M9, creating new connections with and for West Lothian, relieving communities of heavy traffic on local roads as a result. To the north, a new motorway will connect the bridge to the A90/M90, incorporating junction enhancements at Admiralty and Ferrytoll and road widening between them. State-of-the-art Intelligent Transport System technology will be used along the full length of the scheme from the M90 Halbeath Junction over the Queensferry Crossing to the M9 at Newbridge. This will improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and improve road safety. The Fife ITS contract was completed in December 2012. Marking the first use of ITS in Scotland, it introduced gantries, signage and laybys on the M90 between Admiralty and Halbeath and on connecting roads. Further ITS technology was introduced as part of the M9 Junction 1a contract.

The final phase of the ITS roll-out will coincide with the opening of the Queensferry Crossing. By maximising the use of the existing road network, the FRC’s connecting roads will result in less impact on the environment, properties and communities. Read more detail on the connecting roads . Intelligent Transport System The FRC project will create a 13.7 mile (22km) ‘managed motorway’ by using an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to help regulate the flow of traffic approaching and crossing the Forth. This is the first time such a system will have been used in Scotland. Similar managed motorways have been successfully implemented in England, for example on the M42 and M25. This is being opened in phases – starting with phases 1 (Fife) and 2 (Edinburgh, West Lothian) in the winter of 2012 with the third and final phase going live on completion of the crossing. See map for further details . ITS will then extend along a 22km corridor from the M90 Halbeath Junction over the new bridge to the M9 north of Newbridge Junction. Drivers require no specialist skills to use roads featuring ITS.

Overhead gantries spaced regularly along the corridor will provide lane control, variable mandatory speed control and bus lane control. Variable message signs on the gantries will provide drivers with a wide range of traffic information. Mandatory variable speed limits will be applied when necessary - e.g. during incidents or when significant congestion occurs. The speed limits will be enforced. The FRC Intelligent Transport System will be monitored and controlled through the Traffic Scotland Control Centre .

Benefits There is clear evidence from similar schemes in the UK and across the world that Intelligent Transport Systems increase road operational efficiency, capacity and safety - this system will also improve safety for FRC construction workers During incidents or periods of congestion when demand exceeds capacity, the system will set signals and message signs to inform and advise drivers to effectively manage incidents and reduce queues Variable mandatory speed control will help maintain a steady flow of traffic and limit congestion to make journey times more reliable Evidence indicates that systems which reduce vehicle queues can reduce accidents resulting in injury by up to 13% Speed limit enforcement As the first stage in the implementation of enforcement equipment for the Variable Mandatory Speed Limits (VMSL) a single enforcement camera was installed on the M90 southbound carriageway at its approach to the M9 Junction 1A, Kirkliston, in December 2016. This camera is currently being used as part of a testing exercise to assess system operation and performance. This testing exercise will continue into early 2017. The camera will not be generating offences during this testing period however drivers should be aware that speed limits will be enforced by Police Scotland in the normal manner.

When the testing period is complete and enforcement commences, further roadside, online and media communication will be provided. Hard shoulder bus lanes To help promote and encourage use of public transport within the FRC project, bus lanes are provided on the southbound M90 in Fife and on the southbound M9 in the vicinity of M9 Junction 1A. These will operate on a 24-hour, 7-days-a-week basis. Fixed plate signs will be used to advise road users of the presence of a bus lane. The use of bus lanes is legally restricted to buses and coaches constructed to carry 24 seated passengers or more. Any buses that do not meet this requirement, or any other vehicles, are prohibited from using these bus lanes. In case of breakdown or emergency: The bus lane is always accessible as a hard shoulder to any vehicle involved in a breakdown or emergency. When this happens buses will be diverted to the normal traffic lanes In an emergency, one of the emergency refuge areas next to the bus lane/hard shoulder should be used. These emergency refuge areas have emergency roadside telephones with a direct connection to the Traffic Scotland Control Centre If you can't reach an emergency refuge area in your vehicle, the hard shoulder is always available.

Should you require a telephone, follow the directions on the roadside marker posts If you use your mobile, dial 112 or 999 to contact the emergency services Further information For real-time traffic information visit the Traffic Scotland website . Public transport The FRC project enables the existing Forth Road Bridge to be maintained as a dedicated public transport corridor as part of a Managed Crossing strategy (PDF, 4 MB). It will carry public transport, pedestrians and cyclists. In the future it could also be adapted to carry a Light Rapid Transit system. This strategy will deliver substantial benefits to users of public transport through increased capacity and more reliable journey times. An associated Public Transport Strategy for the scheme was first published in January 2010, in conjunction with SEStran and the relevant local authorities. It seeks to ensure integration with public transport and encourage modal shift from cars to public transport.

A Refreshed Strategy (PDF, 158 KB) was prepared in 2012 by: Confederation of Passenger Transport – Scotland City of Edinburgh Council First Bus Group - South East & Central Scotland Lothian Buses; ScotRail Firth of Forth_Rail Bridge_1694 | The Forth Bridge is a cant… | Flickr Chris Belsten By: Chris Belsten Firth of Forth_Rail Bridge_1694 The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 km (9 miles) west of central Edinburgh. It is often called the Forth Rail Bridge or Forth Railway Bridge to distinguish it from the Forth Road Bridge, but should correctly be referred to as the Forth Bridge. The bridge connects Scotland's capital Edinburgh with the Kingdom of Fife, and acts as a major artery connecting the north-east and south-east of the country. Described as "the one internationally recognised Scottish landmark", it may be nominated by the British government as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The bridge and its associated railway infrastructure is owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Limited.

Construction of an earlier bridge, designed by Sir Thomas Bouch, got as far as the laying of the foundation stone, but was stopped after the failure of another of his works, the Tay Bridge. Bouch had proposed a suspension bridge but the public inquiry into the Tay bridge disaster showed that he had under-designed the structure and mistakenly used cast iron, which weakened the entire structure. On Bouch's death the project was handed over to Sir John Fowler and Sir Benjamin Baker, who designed a structure that was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. between 1883 and 1890. It was built in steel alone, the first bridge to use that material. Baker – "one of the most remarkable civil engineers Britain ever produced" – and his colleague Allan Stewart received the major credit for design and overseeing construction work. The bridge is, even today, regarded as an engineering marvel. It is 2.5 km (1.5 miles) in length, and the double track is elevated 46 m (approx. 150 ft) above high tide.

It consists of two main spans of 1,710 ft (520 m), two side spans of 675 ft, 15 approach spans of 168 ft (51 m), and five of 25 ft (7.6 m).[3] Each main span comprises two 680 ft (210 m) cantilever arms supporting a central 350 ft (110 m) span girder bridge. The three great four-tower cantilever structures are 340 ft (104 m) tall, each 70 ft (21 m) diameter foot resting on a separate foundation. The southern group of foundations had to be constructed as caissons under compressed air, to a depth of 90 ft (27 m). At its peak, approximately 4,600 workers were employed in its construction. Initially, it was recorded that 57 lives were lost; however, after extensive research by local historians, the figure has been revised upwards to 98. Eight men were saved by boats positioned in the river under the working areas.

Hundreds more were left crippled by serious accidents, and one log book of accidents and sickness had 26,000 entries. In 2005, a project was set up by the Queensferry History Group to establish a memorial to those workers who died during the bridge's construction. In North Queensferry, a decision was also made to set up memorial benches to commemorate those who died during the construction of both the rail and the road bridges, and to seek support for this project from Fife Council. More than 55,000 tons of steel were used, as well as 18,122 m³ of granite and over eight million rivets. The bridge was opened on 4 March 1890 by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, who drove home the last rivet, which was gold plated and suitably inscribed. A contemporary materials analysis of the bridge, c. 2002, found that the steel in the bridge is of good quality, with little variation. The use of a cantilever in bridge design was not a new idea, but the scale of Baker's undertaking was a pioneering effort, later followed in different parts of the world.

Much of the work done was without precedent, including calculations for incidence of erection stresses, provisions made for reducing future maintenance costs, calculations for wind pressures made evident by the Tay Bridge disaster, the effect of temperature stresses on the structure, and so on. Where possible, the bridge used natural features such as Inchgarvie, an island, the promontories on either side of the firth at this point, and also the high banks on either side. The bridge has a speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h) for passenger trains and 20 mph (32 km/h) for freight trains. The weight limit for any train on the bridge is 1,422 tonnes (1,442,000 kg) although this is waived for the frequent coal trains, provided two such trains do not simultaneously occupy the bridge. The route availability code is RA8, meaning any current UK locomotive can use the bridge, which was designed to accommodate heavier steam locomotives. Up to 190–200 trains per day crossed the bridge in 2006.

A structure like the Forth Bridge needs constant maintenance and the ancillary works for the bridge included not only a maintenance workshop and yard but a railway "colony" of some fifty houses at Dalmeny Station. The track on the bridge is of "waybeam" construction: 12 inch square baulks of timber 6 metres long are bolted into steel troughs in the bridge deck and the rails are fixed on top of these special sleepers known as waybeams. In 1992 the bridge was re-railed with standard BS113A rail (54 kg/m). Prior to 1992 the rails on the bridge were of a unique "Forth Bridge" section. Although modern trains put fewer stresses on the bridge than the earlier steam trains, the bridge needs constant maintenance, and this is currently undertaken by Balfour Beatty under contract to Network Rail. "Painting the Forth Bridge" is a colloquial term for a never-ending task (a modern rendering of the myth of Sisyphus), coined on the erroneous belief that, at one time in the history of the bridge, repainting was required and commenced immediately upon completion of the previous repaint.

According to a 2004 New Civil Engineer report on contemporary maintenance, such a practice never existed, although under British Rail management, and before, the bridge had a permanent maintenance crew. A contemporary repainting of the bridge commenced with a contract award in 2002, for a schedule of work expected to continue until March 2009, involving the application of 20,000 m² of paint at an estimated cost of £13M a year. This new coat of paint is expected to have a life of at least 25 years. In 2008 the total cost was revised upwards to £180M, and projections for finishing the job to 2012. In a report produced by JE Jacobs, Grant Thornton and Faber Maunsell in 2007 which reviewed the alternative options for a second road crossing, it was stated that the estimated working life of the Forth Bridge was in excess of 100 years. Done

Question: The Forth Road Bridge connects which major city to the 'Kingdom of Fife'?
Answer: Edinburgh