The newly completed Queensferry Crossing will partially close for five days.

The £1.35 billion construction will partially close to motorists on Thursday with the bridge reopening on Wednesday, 6 Dec. 

Drivers travelling southbound will be diverted on to the old Forth Road while the surface of the bridge is lifted. 

The closure comes just three months after the bridge was officially opened in September.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf insisted the Scottish Government had always been "upfront" that snagging works could be required on the £1.35 billion Queensferry Crossing.

Mr Yousaf however told BBC Radio Scotland: "We have been very upfront about the fact that there was finishing works still to be complete."

He added: "Let's put this into perspective, those two lanes of south bound traffic that will have to partially close on the Queensferry Crossing, will be diverted, the full two lanes on to the existing Forth Road Bridge.

"And we're going to do these works over the course of a weekend as well, from Thursday with the bridge opening on Wednesday morning.

"So we're doing it with minimal disruption but these kind of snagging works they are not unusual."

Transport spokesman Jamie Greene said: "We had a big expensive firework party a couple of months ago.

"The bridge did open but it opened with the full knowledge that there were surfacing issues and workmanship problems.

"How on earth were those workmanship problems not brought to the forefront and the public should have been told about that in advance."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie told BBC Radio Scotland: "The new bridge was supposed to be the insurance policy for the old bridge, now it seems to be the other way round.

"This was supposed to the replacement bridge, it was not supposed to be an additional bridge, we were supposed to be wholly reliant on this new crossing."

He added: "Potentially this new bridge is not going to be finished for two years after they promised that it was going to be finished.

"This is one of the biggest, one of the best bridges in the world but yet it's two years late and it's one of the most expensive bridges."