On a dreich, blustery winter�s morning, First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday cut the blue ribbon to officially open the Clackmannanshire Bridge.

On a dreich, blustery winter's morning, First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday cut the blue ribbon to officially open the Clackmannanshire Bridge.

The £120m crossing over the Firth of Forth is the second-largest bridge of its type in the world.

The 26-span structure is three-quarters of a mile long and has 25 piers, which are each filled with 840 tonnes of concrete.

Mr Salmond said: "Transport is a fundamental part of the Scottish Government's drive to encourage sustainable economic growth.

"This is a world-class infrastructure project which will cut journey times, improve central Scotland connections, and provide a unique gateway to Clackmannanshire, Fife and Falkirk."

He added: "For local communities, the Clackmannanshire Bridge will deliver not only visitors, but safer roads and environmental benefits. It will remove the long-standing congestion from the centre of Kincardine, encourage safe cycling, while benefiting local businesses."

The bridge weighs 35,000 tonnes, the equivalent of 8600 elephants, and the amount of material brought to the site for the construction would fill a football pitch, and stretch 68m high, the same height as the Wallace Monument.

Around 20,000 vehicles per day will use the crossing, which will improve transport links between Clackmannanshire, known as the Wee County, Fife and Falkirk, and will connect Clackmannanshire with the motorway system for the first time.

The bridge will relieve traffic congestion in the area and reduce the pressure on the neighbouring Kincardine Bridge, taking its traffic flow down from around 30,100 vehicles per day to approximately 18,100. The connecting truck road network has also been upgraded, with 6km of new roads and 5km of cycleways.

Children from Clackmannan Primary School, along with members of the local community, councillors, and workers who took part in the bridge's construction, gathered to watch the opening.

The First Minister's car was first to cross the bridge, followed by a cyclist, an electric car, and an original Aston Martin to mark the opening of the first Kincardine Bridge in 1936.

The project was managed by Transport Scotland and was a joint venture between construction companies Morgan Est and Vinci. The engineers and environmental consultants involved in the construction of the bridge had to take steps to ensure the new crossing would respect the surrounding environment, which is a feeding ground for birds on the Forth Estuary.

They plan to build additional mudflats and saltmarsh to provide alternative roosting and feeding areas for wintering birds.

Jag Paddam, managing director at Morgan Est, said the bridge was one of the most eco-friendly he had seen.

He said: "We've addressed a lot of environmental issues in this project. We've minimised disturbing the environmental birds for which the area is renowned." Normally with a bridge like this you launch it from both ends, but we couldn't because of environmental constraints, so we've had to launch it all from one end, which is a unique feature."

Craig Marshall, 22, a construction worker who was involved in the bridge's completion, said: "Working on the bridge was a great experience. We had a really good team of foremen and engineers, and we got the bridge finished on time.

It's a good boost to say you've been working on something that will be here for years to come."

Jeanette Wieczorek, head of Clackmannan Primary School, said: "I think they've done a wonderful job. I've been travelling over Kincardine Bridge for 14 years and I look forward to using the new bridge to make my journey a bit easier."

Andrea Paterson, 10, a pupil at Clackmannan Primary School who lives locally, said: "The bridge is cool. It was exciting watching it being built from my house."