The work to strengthen the bridge began at 1900BST on Saturday and finished on 0400GMT on Sunday - 27 hours ahead of schedule.

Work to prolong the bridge's life

It was anticipated that the structure would have to be closed until 0600GMT on Monday.

But a Strathclyde Police spokesman confirmed that the operation had finished in the early hours of Sunday and the next stage of the repairs will take place next June.

The work over two weekends has involved engineers lifting the 30-year-old structure on the River Clyde as part of an ongoing programme to correct faults and prolong its life.

On-going operation

The shorter closure in the second phase was made possible because of the successful completion of the first part of the operation last weekend when engineers managed to lift the 52,000 tonne bridge 20mm.

Lifting jacks will support the bridge for seven months while new concrete piers are constructed.

Eleven diversion routes were set up and Strathclyde Police mounted a huge traffic management operation to cope.

The bridge is one of Europe's busiest, carrying an average 150,000 vehicles a day.

The �31.5m operation began after the discovery of major defects in the bridge in 1990.

The north pier wall near the bridge's support piers was found to be bulging.