£300k has been announced for a new project to digitally map and scan every detail of the three bridges over the Forth, for future generations.

The bridges will be digitally mapped with laser technology used previously by the Scottish Ten initiative.

The project is due to start 2015 and will be carried out by the Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation (CDDV), which is a collaboration between heritage specialists at Historic Scotland and experts in 3D visualisation at The Glasgow School of Art’s Digital Design Studio.

First Minister Alex Salmond made the announcement at a visit to the Forth Replacement Crossing Contact and Education Centre in South Queensferry. He said: "The Forth bridges represent Scotland’s industrial past, creative present and our dynamic and innovative future. They are the pinnacle of world leading design and engineering. Therefore it is only right that we do all that we can to conserve and protect them for future generations.


"This exciting new project will not only help to create an extremely accurate record for the conservation and management of the bridges but will also provide digital content from which it will be possible to provide animations, fly-throughs and basic education materials that will help inspire our next generation of Scottish engineers.

"The bridges are iconic landmarks in Scotland and these digital images will no doubt help to showcase their magnificence and attract tourists from across the globe."

Dr Paul Chapman, Deputy Director of the Digital Design Studio of The Glasgow School of Art, said: "The Digital Design Studio at The Glasgow School of Art is proud to be part of this exciting and challenging project, our previous portfolio of projects, including many joint ventures with our long term partner Historic Scotland, has provided us with the necessary experience and capability to undertake the digital documentation of these extremely complex structures using laser scanning and other cutting edge technologies."

Historic Scotland’s Head of Major Projects Chris McGregor said: "Digitally documenting the Forth bridges is a fantastic opportunity both to showcase the three bridges in all their engineering glory, and to apply the latest digital surveying technologies in the most challenging of circumstances. Fortunately we can call upon the expertise of our partners in the Digital Design Studio at the Glasgow School of Art, as well as our own experts in Historic Scotland."

(IT/CD)