A joint venture (JV) between Farrans Construction and Victor Buyck Steel Construction (FVB) is continuing work on a £117 million bridge project in Sunderland.

The new New Wear Crossing is being developed over the River Wear and completion is scheduled for spring 2018.

Preparation works for the main pylon, the centrepiece of the new structure, are now nearing completion.

Giant steel moulds have been fixed to the floor of the cofferdam, which will help create the shape of the bridge's tusks. Overall, 75 tonnes of reinforced steel has been installed into each mould, with around 300m3 of concrete filled into them, forming the base of each pylon leg.

Once complete, the moulds will be removed and the tusks will stand at more than eight metres tall, protruding over the top of the cofferdam wall.

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Stephen McCaffrey, Project Director of FVB joint venture, said: "The project is moving along at a pace and very soon people will be able to see the base of the pylon very clearly in the river.

"A lot of work has been concentrated around the cofferdam during the past few weeks as we have constructed the tusks in the river in readiness for the arrival of the main A-frame pylon next year.

"The tusks themselves are very complex, consisting of a lot of reinforcing steel, concrete and other elements to ensure we have the highest level of strength and support required to hold the pylon, and then ultimately take the weight of the cable-stayed bridge."

Mr McCaffrey added work was continuing on the south embankment to assemble the second section of bridge deck, with teams working in welding tents along the length of the deck to fix the steel sections together. The deck is due to be launched across the river in spring 2017.

Council Leader Paul Watson said: "It's wonderful to see Sunderland's new bridge developing before us every week, with so much progress made in just the last few weeks on both the bridge deck and the tusks for the pylon.

"This bridge is going to be the catalyst for investment and regeneration in Sunderland, creating jobs, raising confidence and reducing congestion in the city in the years to come."

Once completed, the new Wear Crossing will create 2.8km of new roads and open land along the River Wear for regeneration and development, including the creation of up to 6,000 new jobs.

(LM/MH)