Contractors have started lifting into place the 100-metre centrepiece pylon on the new £117 million New Wear Crossing.

The Farrans Victor Buyck Joint Venture (FVB) is working alongside Sarens to complete the lifting operation, which began at 8am today, 10 January.

The two-day process is the first time anything of this size has been raised in this way since the London Eye was lifted in 1999.

The 1,550-tonne pylon has been connected to two tusk-like structures built into the riverbed foundations that stand eight meters tall and rise up out of the water. They will support the A-frame once it is in its final position.

In addition, a temporary backmast has been attached to the pylon and connected to four strand jacks that are anchored 30m into the ground on the south embankment. Together they will pull the pylon into position.

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For safety reasons, people are being asked not to fly drones in the area throughout the two-day raising process, as it could hamper operations or lead to an accident.

Council Leader Paul Watson said: "I think this is the moment we have all been waiting for, when we see this impressive structure raised up over the River Wear during what I believe will be a real engineering spectacle. This new bridge is going to bring great things to Sunderland, and the raising of the pylon symbolises the beginning of that."

Stephen McCaffrey, Project Director for FVB, added:" We have been working towards this point since we broke ground on the project 20 months ago, so I think we are all looking forward to seeing the centrepiece take its final position over the river.

"Lifting something of this weight and size is complex and takes a lot of planning and expertise. This operation has been calculated to the millimetre, so it will be very slow and measured – it cannot be rushed. There have been a lot of things to get in place, and we also needed the right weather window, but we are ready.

"Engineering achievements of this scale don't happen very often, so I think it will be quite something for people to watch – even for us working on the project. It will take at least 24 hours to complete, so hopefully people will have a chance to see it."

The New Wear Crossing will link Castletown to the north of the River Wear with Pallion to the south, and will have dual two-lane carriageways for vehicles, as well as dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes.

It is on track to open in spring 2018.

(LM/JP)