Joy as Princess Anne officially opens £145m Gull Wing bridge

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) There were cheers and loud applause as Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opened Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) Describing it as "very aptly named" The Princess Royal unveiled the town's new third crossing that has eased congestion and is delivering huge benefits to the town.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) Unveiling a plaque at the base of the control tower to formally open the new bridge - which has been decades in the making - The Princess Royal said: "The Gull Wing bridge is unique in many respects and I am sure that the people of Lowestoft will not only make very good use of it, but really appreciate it.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) "Persistence and patience has really paid off."

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) Weeks after the £145m Gull Wing bridge welcomed traffic and heralded a new era in Lowestoft on September 7, The Princess Royal met groups of people involved with the bridge planning and construction as well as officials including Lowestoft MP Jess Asato and the mayor of Lowestoft Nasima Begum at the Riverside council offices.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) There was then the chance to view the new 345-metre bridge - which was built on behalf of Suffolk County Council by civil engineering contractor Farrans Construction - and see the bascule wings, before visiting the control tower.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially opens Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) To loud applause from hundreds of people outside, The Princess Royal pressed the button to open the bridge.

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne presses the button in the control tower to open the £145m Gull Wing bridge. Picture: Suffolk County Council (Image: Suffolk County Council)

Hundreds of people turned out to see Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne officially open Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan) Excelsior sails through the new £145m Gull Wing bridge in Lowestoft as it is officially opened by HRH, The Princess Royal. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

And there were 'three cheers' as traditional Lowestoft fishing smack The Excelsior - of which The Princess Royal is Patron - sailed through, along with Lowestoft RNLI relief lifeboat Eric's Legend and the Kingfisher pilot boat.

Excelsior sails through the new £145m Gull Wing bridge in Lowestoft as it is officially opened by HRH, The Princess Royal. Picture: Mick Howes (Image: Mick Howes)

Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne with the three schoolchildren at the official opening of Lowestoft's £145m Gull Wing Bridge. Picture: Sonya Duncan (Image: Sonya Duncan)

Councillor Liz Harsant, the Chair of Suffolk County Council, introduced The Princess Royal to three youngsters from the Lowestoft area - who back in 2020 were previously in Year 6 at Somerleyton Primary School as they named the bridge in a competition for local schools.

Her Royal Highness meets the three Lowestoft school pupils who came up with the name ‘Gull Wing’ – Eva Ainslie, left, Hayden Nicholls and Jack Baldry. Picture: Suffolk County Council (Image: Suffolk County Council)

Now teenagers, the trio who met The Princess Royal and presented her with a posy of flowers were Eva Ainslie, 15, Hayden Nicholls, 15, and Jack Baldry, 16.

They coined the name ‘Gull Wing’ after taking inspiration from the shape of the bascule span's beams and their resemblance to the wings of a gull.