SIXTY years since it was officially opened by the Queen, the creation of a bridge across the Forth was seen as necessary amid the growing popularity of the motorcar.
The need for such a structure was first identified in the 1920s but plans had to be put on hold until 1947 because of the Great Depression and the Second World War.
In 1958, work got started on the Forth Road Bridge with Britain's largest three construction firms collaborating under the name of ACD Bridge Company Ltd.
The consortium included Sir William Arrol who had been responsible for the construction of the Forth Bridge 80 years earlier.
A special training school had to be set up nearby to teach the contractors how to spin the main cables which were brought to the site after they had been manufactured in Musselburgh.
The final box girders for the completion of the main span were swung into place at the end of 1963, covered in the Union Flag and Lion Rampant to mark the occasion.
The following year, 1964, then saw the completion of the roadway and footpaths and the placement of its asphalt surfacing and lighting with the bridge being officially opened by Queen Elizabeth on September 4, 1964.
READ MORE: Events planned to mark 60th anniversary of Forth Road Bridge
A Forth Road Bridge souvenir edition of the Dunfermline Press went out the following day which descried the bridge as "the greatest engineering achievement in Scotland this century".
It said it was the fulfilment of a 40-year campaign for a road link between Fife and the Lothians across the Forth and was watched by tremendous crowds.
It added that weather conditions didn't look like they would be favourable for the Royal occasion.
"A blanket of fog threatened to blot out the entire ceremony for the majority of the thousands who flocked to both ends of the bridge for the occasion, but it lifted partially in time to give the crowds a glimpse of an historic moment," it stated.
"A few words graciously spoken by Her Majesty, who was accompanied by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, followed by the deafening roar of a Royal Naval salute and this magnificent bridge, the entire project started in 1958 and costing in the region of $20 million, was officially open.
"Several hours later, the first motorists turned another page of Scottish history by crossing the new bridge, paying the 2/6 toll as they did so.
"For the whole of Scotland, and particularly Fife, this was indeed a memorable day and it was appropriate that such a magnificent achievement should be inaugurated by the Queen."
The opening of the bridge signalled the closure of the Queensferry Passage which has seen people make the journey between Fife and the Lothians by boat.
To mark this era's end – the ferries had run for 800 years – a service was held on the Queen Margaret ferryboat the day after the bridge's opening which was presided over by Rev HJG Troup, minister of the linked charge of North Queensferry and St John's Inverkeithing and led by HMS Caledonia.
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