The giant crane needed to hoist the new tram bridge into place in the River Ribble will be in place from Saturday.
All sections of the new bridge at the Old Tram Bridge site have now arrived on the southern side of the riverbank.
Preston City Council has released details of when and where people can go to watch the big crane in action.
Read more: First section of new bridge appears at Old Tram Bridge site
It will stand 75-metres in height and winch the new bridge into position.
During Saturday (29 November) the crane is being prepared and the jib lifted into position with equipment put in place for bridge sections – no lifting of the bridge will take place on this day.
On Sunday (30 November) the land-based section of the bridge on the southern side will be lifted during the morning as weather conditions as it stands ‘look favourable’. Anyone wanting to watch is asked to do so from the Avenham Park footpath on the north side of the river.
A planned lift for Monday (1 December) of the remaining bridge sections are not expected to take place as high winds and poor weather conditions are expected. The crane will be de-rigged and then rebuilt.
The remaining sections of the bridge are expected to be lifted into place during Tuesday (2 December) to Thursday (4 December) although no exact timings are being given at this stage and it will depend on weather conditions.
Weighing 150 tonnes the new bridge has been built in East Lancashire and the sections and supports have been arriving at the depot on the South Ribble side of the river throughout this week.
Back in 2019 the former bridge was declared as unsafe and the multi-million pound project to build a replacement began in May last year with demolition of the old bridge taking place throughout last summer.
The new bridge is expected to be complete and open by Spring 2026 to restore the pedestrian access route between the Penwortham and Walton-le-Dale side and Avenham Park.
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