Buses due back on the Forth Road Bridge

The Forth Road Bridge will be re-opened to buses today.

Bus operator Stagecoach said it should cut journey times and improve punctuality. It comes five weeks after the bridge closed when the replacement Queensferry Crossing opened.

New road links have been completed to enable the 54-year-old bridge to begin its new life as a “public transport corridor”.

Buses will share one of the bridge’s carriageways for the first few weeks.

Non-scheduled buses, taxis and motorcycles will follow in a few weeks’ time.

Transport Scotland confirmed the Queensferry Crossing speed limit was expected to be increased from 40 mph to 50 mph “in the coming weeks”.

The agency said it was due to become a motorway, with a 70mph limit, “later in the year”.

The Forth Road Bridge has been closed to all but cyclists and walkers since the Queensferry Crossing re-opened on 7 September.

A spokeswoman said: “We would expect the new arrangement to have a positive impact on journey times and service reliability.”

Mark Arndt, Forth bridges unit account director, said: “We’ve taken the opportunity to get ahead with steelwork repairs.”