Once the two massive steel structures have been delivered engineers from Farrans, the contractor working on the project, will lift them on top of the piers and bolt them into place. Following this, concrete decks will be cast before the road surface is laid.

Gull Wing Bridge released a statement that said: “The crane being used to lift and install NAV 2 and NAV 3 is now in place.

“Following the postponement of delivery this past weekend, the structures are now due to come into Lowestoft mid-week. As before this could change due to weather conditions, however it looks promising to go ahead.”

The construction of the Gull Wing bridge is part of a £146M project to ease congestion on local and strategic roads by crossing Lake Lothing. The scheme includes building the southern access road bridge and two new roundabouts, plus 130 utility diversions.

The eight-span bridge will be 342m long and will have a maximum width of 22m. It will clear the water below by 12m, a much higher clearance than the town’s other two crossings. Suffolk County Council appointed Farrans as the main contractor in December 2020 and construction began in April 2021.

The first bridge span to be installed was the 55m-long, 380t NAV1, the northernmost section, in October. The steel section, manufactured by Belgian steel construction company Victor Buyck Steel Construction, arrived at the construction site on Lake Lothing in March.

According to current estimates, the project is set to be completed later this year. Suffolk County Council is hoping to open the bridge this winter; it was originally planned for construction to be completed during summer.

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