THE single largest engineering project in Scotland for decades, the Queensferry Crossing, is now beginning to take shape.

Residents in the area have caught the first glimpse of the bridge as it stretches out into the Forth.

The carriageways, or viaducts, can be seen high above South Queensferry's Society Road as contractors continue their scheduled "push-out".

Assembled in stages, the bridge has stretched to almost 220 yards (200m) long over the past three months.

Transport minister Keith Brown said: "This is remarkable progress and the vast scale of the operation is even more spectacular when you are lucky enough to view it up close.

"In just three months since the first 'push launch' the viaduct has been assembled near South Queensferry and pulled out across the first two piers of the bridge - a total of 196m.

"It is a great credit to our contractors, FCBC, and 100-strong team working on the viaduct to have taken such great strides in such a short space of time.

"In the months ahead, the public really will start to notice the Queensferry Crossing taking shape."

Steady progress has certainly been the key to the project so far, with ministers keen to ensure the bridge is built on time and under budget.

Elsewhere, at Builyeon Road on the A904, work on the proposed Queensferry Junction has also began.

David Climie, project director with Transport Scotland, said: "We are at the halfway point on the project and people can really start to see the Queensferry Crossing rising from the Forth.

"On the south side, the approach viaduct is being pushed out and the new Queensferry junction is on schedule to open this summer."

The viaduct deck arrives by road in 33m segments and then "fabricated" on site.

Each completed carriageway deck will weigh around 3000 tonnes in total.

The south viaduct will carry traffic to and from the south approach roads on to the main crossing.