A navigation channel is being closed to marine traffic for three weeks from today (Friday).

It marks another significant milestone in the construction of the £145m Gull Wing bridge in Lowestoft.

After the main and final bascule span of the town's long-awaited third crossing arrived from the Netherlands on Monday, it is now at the construction site on Lake Lothing ready to soon be lifted into place.

With the temporary suspension of navigation in Lake Lothing for the installation of the main bascule span now in place, the lake closure will last for three weeks.

Lowestoft Journal:

And as leading building and civil engineering contractor Farrans Construction continues to oversees work on the bridge on behalf of Suffolk County Council, a council spokesman said: "The three-week temporary closure of Lake Lothing’s navigation channel will commence as planned today (Friday, March 8) while the main bascule span is installed.

"The installation and commissioning of the bascule span is the most complex major element of the project, and the works during the channel closure are critical to enabling the Gull Wing bridge to be operational."

With the Gull Wing bascule bridge span measuring 39.5m long, 22m wide and 35m tall, it will weigh about 1,120 tonnes when it is delivered to site and positioned into place.

The council said that once installed, the bridge "will sit clear of the highest tide by 12m," and once in place it will be "the largest rolling bascule bridge in the world lifted using hydraulic cylinders."

 

The council spokesman added: "Following the three-week closure, a further period of reliability testing will be needed before the bridge is fully operational.

"There will then be a short period of time for final handover and operator staff training before the bridge can safely be opened to the public."