The Forth Road Bridge is to reopen tomorrow to all vehicles expect HGVs.

Amey confirmed today that temporary repairs to the bridge have now been completed and it will reopen at 6am tomorrow.

The bridge was closed earlier this month after a crack was discovered on one of its truss end links.

The Scottish Government had originally said the bridge would remain closed until the New Year.

Transport minister Derek Mackay has praised the team involved in the repair work, who have worked around the clock to get the bridge reopened.

He said: "I am pleased that we are now able to reopen the bridge to 90% of traffic, well ahead of schedule.

"Following rigorous testing and inspection of the temporary repair, experts have recommended the bridge is now ready to open to all traffic except HGVs. With the temporary solution now in place, the remaining work to install the long term repair can safely proceed without the need for a full closure. The repairs will be carried out with overnight lane restrictions on the bridge."

Mr Mackay said that additional works on seven other areas of the bridge are also being carried out as a precaution and confirmed that, due to popular demand, Scotrail will continue its additional 5.52am Fife train once the bridge reopens.

The bridge should be open to HGVs by mid-February.

He added: "In addition to the interim repair on the cracked member, splints are being installed on the other seven members as a precaution. Of these, work is already complete at four and the remaining three will be completed, subject to weather, by the end of December. There is no reason for the bridge to remain closed while this work is completed. The other seven members have also  been inspected and load tested and no issues have been discovered. However strain gauges will also be attached to these members to gather accurate data on their performance."

Nicola Sturgeon tweeted this morning to confirm the bridge will reopen at 6am tomorrow to all traffic except HGVs.

The bridge has been closed now for 18 days.

There have been calls for an inquiry into the closure of the bridge after an engineer claimed repairs to the cracked section had been part of cancelled 2010 works.

However, Nicola Sturgeon has denied that cuts to the Forth Road Bridge maintenance budget led to its closure.