Moderator Blesses New Queensferry Crossing

THE Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev Dr Derek Browning, has blessed the Queensferry Crossing at the opening by the Queen of the new bridge across the Forth.

Dr Browning accompanied the Queen, who formally opened the new crossing (53 years to the day since the opening of the Forth Road Bridge, the first road crossing linking North and South Queensferry) and Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

Speaking at the opening, the Moderator said: “It is a tremendous privilege to be involved in this wonderful event.  Bridges connect and span divides. Bridges make communication possible. Bridges are symbols of inclusion and hope. May God bless this Queensferry Crossing and all who travel on it.”

The new bridge, which took six years to build and cost £1.35bn to build, opened on Wednesday to traffic for two days, before closing on Friday to allow 50,000 people to walk its 1.7 mile length. A further 10,000 people from community groups will be allowed to walk across the bridge (which has no footpaths) before it reopens to traffic later this week.

The full text of Dr Browning's blessing reads:

This is a bridge

That connects the land:

A bridge to honour

The contours of earth, air and water,

All gloriously united.

This is a bridge

That celebrates the skills

Of hand and heart and mind:

Concrete and steel, style and shape,

All gloriously created.

This is a bridge

That enables the movement of people:

Through space and time,

In coming and going,

All gloriously dynamic.

God bless this bridge;

God bless this Queensferry Crossing,

And all who travel on it.

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