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:''This article is about a bridge in Scotland. There is also a main-road bridge at Queensferry, Flintshire in Wales. For the road bridge currently in use, see Forth Road Bridge.'' The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge under construction in Scotland. It is being built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and will carry the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Lothian, at South Queensferry, and Fife, at North Queensferry. Proposals for a second Forth road crossing were first put forward in the 1990s, but it was not until the discovery of structural issues with the Forth Road Bridge in 2005 that plans were moved forward. The decision to proceed with a replacement bridge was taken at the end of 2007, although the following year it was announced that the existing bridge would be retained as a public transport link. The Forth Crossing Act received Royal Assent in January 2011, and construction began in September 2011. The Queensferry Crossing will be a cable-stayed bridge, with an overall length of . Around of new connecting roads will be built, including new and upgraded junctions at Ferrytoll in Fife, South Queensferry and Junction 1A on the M9. It will be the third bridge across the Forth at Queensferry, alongside the Forth Road Bridge completed in 1964, and the Forth Bridge completed in 1890. The bridge is due to be complete by 2016. Following a public vote, it was formally named on 26 June 2013. ==Background to the project== The Forth Road Bridge, opened in 1964, replacing a centuries-old ferry crossing. Proposals for an additional road crossing at Queensferry were drawn up in the early 1990s, as part of the "Setting Forth" consultation document prepared by the Scottish Office. The plans met stiff opposition from environmentalists and from the City of Edinburgh Council on the grounds of the increased traffic. Following the Labour victory in the 1997 general election, the proposals were shelved.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=£300m price tag put on bridge to beat gridlock )〕 The existing bridge had a planned design life of 120 years,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=FAQs )〕 but by the early years of the 21st century the planned theoretical capacity for the bridge was being routinely exceeded. It was designed for up to 11 million vehicles per year, but this had risen steadily to 23 million vehicles in 2006.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Firms told time running out on Forth Road Bridge )〕 Between 2003 and 2005, an inspection programme found that the main suspension cables had suffered an estimated 8–10% loss of strength as a result of corrosion. Projections highlighted the likelihood of an accelerating loss of strength, with traffic restrictions to limit loading required in 2014 in the worst-case scenario.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Forth Road Bridge – First internal inspection, strength evaluation, acoustic monitoring and dehumidification of the main cables )〕 The strategic transport importance of the road bridge – and the threat of closure by 2019 if major structural work was not successful – led to fears of serious economic consequences, especially as work on a new crossing was estimated to take up to 11 years. Scottish Transport Minister Nicol Stephen commissioned a new study, which priced a second Forth Road Bridge at £300 million, in 2003.〔 The Forth Estuary Transport Authority voiced support for a new bridge in 2005,〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=BBC News )〕 and in 2006 the UK Transport Secretary, Alistair Darling, spoke in favour of the idea.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Minister defiant on bridge issues )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Queensferry Crossing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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