Great Yarmouth bridge: Vital part of Herring Bridge arrives

Being towed from the North Sea by a tug boat, a 700-tonne leaf - which will form part of the town's new bridge - arrived at the town today (March 9).

Dozens of people gathered on Gorleston pier for a first glimpse of the 62 metre-long piece of machinery as it made its way through the harbour to its current holding place by Berth 14.

The bascule bridge leaf - forming one part of Great Yarmouth's third river crossing - weighs 700 tonnes and is 62m long and 20m wide. Picture - Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

The development of the recently-named Herring Bridge will continue next week with the arrival of the second 20-metre-wide leaf. 

The Herring Bridge will link the A47 at Harfrey’s roundabout to the port and the enterprise zone via South Denes Road on the other side of the River Yare.

Recent drone shots show how far the project has come, with entrance roads on either side of the river now complete. 

Drone shots taken in February showed the access roads to the Herring Bridge near completion. Picture - NCC (Image: NCC)

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Malcolm McAllister, the community engagement manager for this BAM Farrans joint venture, said today was "the easy part".

"The hard work begins once the other leaf has arrived," he said.

"This has taken five years of planning, and there has been such a lot of work gone into this bridge construction. 

"This is such a milestone for the project, and it is great to see it all come together."

Malcolm McAllister, community engagement manager for BAM Farrans joint venture. Picture - Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

A soon-to-arrive Matador 3 floating crane will be used to lift the leaves off the barges and hold them above the bascule chambers while they are attached.

Once the leaves are in place, 500 tons of concrete - forming the bridge's counterbalance - will be added to the structure.

The installation process is due to take around 72 hours. During the installation, the river will be closed to all waterway traffic from 8am on Tuesday, March 21.

The bascule bridge leaf making its way downriver of the Yare. It was pulled by tug boat 'The Wrestler' with support from 'Jenny D'. Picture - Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)