New bridge becomes 'iconic' landmark over town

A new "landmark" has unexpectedly appeared above a town in Nottinghamshire - but residents have been told it won't be there for long.

The structure is in fact the new pedestrian and cycle bridge which will eventually be placed over the River Trent, linking Lady Bay in Rushcliffe with the Trent Basin area of Nottingham.

Large sections of prefabricated steel will be used to create the 85m Waterside Bridge and are being manufactured by Briton Fabricators Ltd in Watnall Road, Hucknall.

The company has put together the structure on its site as a "trial run" before it is taken away and painted, leading some to nickname it The Hucknall Arc.

62-year-old Debbie Riley has lived in Hucknall all her life and can see the bridge from her living room window.

"It's like an iconic piece of sculpture at the moment," she said.

"I'm excited to see what else they're going to do, how big it's going to get, how they're going to move it.

"When the grandchildren come, they're quite excited as well. They call it Momma's rollercoaster."

65-year-old Rob Thornley grew up in Hucknall and said it is "fantastic" for the town.

"The factory has been there since I was a kid and it's bringing trade which is really good," he added.

"I'm excited to walk over it, but I'll miss it when it's gone."

Angela White, 49, said: "I'm Hucknall born and bred but I left when I was 20 because it was such a horrible place to be and needed the regeneration.

"It's got so much better since then and things like this are a symbol of that progress."

The bridge is expected to be dismantled for the next phase of work in late June.

Dean Morcom, managing director of Briton Fabricators, said: "The programme is comfortably in advance of where we need to be and the structure you see at the moment will start to be dismantled to be sent away for painting and protective treatment.

"Once that is complete the bridge parts are scheduled to be delivered to site for assembly, which will be starting around August 2025."

Mr Morcom added: "We are extremely proud to be building this iconic structure for our home town."

When it arrives in Nottingham in August, the bridge will be safety tested and lifted into place by one of the largest cranes in the world.

The crawler crane is so big it will arrive in five pieces and need a smaller crane to put it together.

Nottingham City Council has said the bridge will be the flagship and final project of its Transforming Cities Fund programme.

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