New Wear Bridge pylon sets sail for Sunderland

A barge carrying the the gigantic pylon for the New Wear Bridge has set sail for Sunderland.
How the new bridge will look when completed.How the new bridge will look when completed.
How the new bridge will look when completed.

The A-frame pylon was loaded on to a barge and transported on to the Port of Ghent in Belgium, and has now set begun the voyage over the North Sea to the Wear.

It is not yet known when the pylon will arrive in Sunderland.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Made using more than 1,000 tonnes of steel and 550 tonnes of concrete, the structure was so big that the final stages of the fabrication process had to be completed in the open air, and it had to be loaded onto two barges before it could be transported along a canal to the port.

The New Wear Crossing is on track to open in spring 2018. Once complete, it will carry a dual carriageway and dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes over the Wear between Pallion and North Hylton.

City leaders say the bridge will boost business links between the city centre and Port of Sunderland to the A19 and A1, as well as improve public transport and make life easier for motorists.