This magnificent bridge, the largest of its kind that had been built to that date, has 28 semi circular arches of 61ft 6 inches span, carried on piers which give the bridge a maximum height, from riverbed to parapet, of 126ft, and an overall length of 2,160 feet. The total cost was £120,000. For comparison, the old Berwick road bridge, built in 1609, is 17ft wide has 15 arches and took 24 years and 4 months to complete; Robert Stephenson crossed the river at a much higher level, and built his bridge in 3 years and 4 months, aided by his friend and engineering colleague Thomas Elliot Harrison.

The formal opening of the bridge was on 29th August 1850, when Queen Victoria, who was travelling up to Scotland on that day, performed the ceremony. This famously took only 12 minutes to perform, leaving many of the estimated 12,000 crowd of sightseers disappointed. The Queen offered Robert Stephenson a knighthood for his achievement, though he turned the honour down.