BRIDGE FACTS

At 2250 metres (1.4 miles), it’s one of the longest road bridges in Europe.

It took three years to build, between 1963 and 1966.

360 men worked on the bridge at its peak construction period, and around 200 more were involved in the fabrication of materials off-site.

The main structure has 42 spans.

The bridge carries an average of 26,000 vehicles each day.

A 50ft (15m) tall obelisk stands at the Newport side and a smaller one at the Dundee side.

Aluminium was used in the construction of the crash barriers for the first time in Britain.

The bridge has a gradient of 1:81, running from 9.75m (32ft) above sea level in Dundee to 38.1m (125ft) above sea level in Fife.

Toll fees were a shilling (5p) for a motorbike without sidecar and half a crown (12½p) for cars and motorbikes with sidecars. Heavy vehicles were 10 shillings (50p).

Bridge tolls were in place for 42 years, only being abolished in 2008.

A gala day to celebrate the opening took place on August 20, 1966 and entertainment included a tattie howkers’ polka by the Newport Lifeboys, fancy dress parade, baby show and, bizarrely, an ankle competition.

On the day the bridge opened, the Fifies, the ferry boat service to Newport, ended.

Jif lemons were hung from a tree by the bridge by staff for a joke but become a talking point, with tour buses telling passengers it was the world’s most northerly lemon tree. Each winter, staff would wash them in preparation for the following summer.