Bridge centrepiece arrives in Sunderland

A 100m tall centrepiece to Sunderland’s New Wear Crossing project has arrived in the city.

The white structure, which is constructed from more than 1,000 tonnes of steel and 550 tonnes of concrete, arrived into the Port of Sunderland on Saturday (7 January) afternoon with several hundred onlookers lining the banks of the River Wear to watch it arrive.

When the pylon arrived, it was met by harbour tug boats from the north east, about a mile off the Port entrance, and then towed past the Roker and New South piers before berthing at Greenwells Quay.

It will be moored at the port for several weeks while final preparations are carried out before it is transported three miles up the River Wear to the site of the new bridge between Pallion and Castletown.

The pylon will form the centrepiece of the New Wear Crossing, which is on track to open in the spring of 2018. It will help attract investment into Sunderland, create new jobs and regenerate land along the River Wear.

Leader of Sunderland City Council Councillor Paul Watson said: “Seeing the pylon here in Sunderland for the first time makes me personally feel very proud of all the work that has been put in by a lot of people to turn this project into a reality.

“There is still a lot of work to be done, but I’d like to say thank you to everyone involved who has ensured that we have got this far - on time and within budget.”