Lowestoft Gull Wing parts arrive from Belgium

24 April 2023

News image — The giant crane unloading the Gull Wing bridge sections from the barge

CHPV Offshore Film & Photography One of the steel pieces being lifted by a crane — The giant crane unloading the Gull Wing bridge sections from the barge

The latest sections of a £145m bridge that will provide a town with a long-awaited third water crossing have arrived.

They were delivered to the construction site for the Gull Wing bridge in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on Sunday.

The new sections, which arrived on a barge from Belgium, will form part of the southern end of the bridge.

The project is due to be completed by December.

Simon Bretherton, Suffolk County Council project director, said: "The arrival of these next sections will see the structure take shape for the first time on both sides of Lake Lothing.

"This is another major step forward and we continue to make good progress on building what will be an iconic structure providing a new era for jobs, businesses and connectivity for the town of Lowestoft and the wider area."

Gull Wing Bridge Project The construction site for the bridge project in Lowestoft, Suffolk — The Gull Wing bridge will span Lake Lothing - the waterway that divides south and north Lowestoft

The council said one of the biggest cranes of its kind in the world was set up for the arrival of the new steel sections, one of which is 41m (135ft) long and the other 35m (115ft).

They weigh a combined total of 318 tonnes.

One of the sections will be offloaded first and placed on a temporary base, the council said. The other will then be offloaded directly into position.

A barge will return next month with two more pieces for the southern approach viaduct.

Two sections of Gull Wing bridge parts were towed into Lowestoft in March

Last month, sections for the northern approach viaduct arrived in the town.

Crowds and photographers lined the quayside as the barge, with a tugboat at either end, inched past Lowestoft's Bascule Bridge and into Lake Lothing, transporting the sections that weighed a combined 400 tonnes.