Preston came out to see history being made as a section of the new Tram Bridge was lifted into place.
Representatives from Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council were joined by Eric Wright Construction, Friends of the Old Tram Bridge, architect John Bridge and dozens of members of the public to see the lift take place.
And although the lift was a touch behind schedule – leaving a few cold hands and dashes to the Pavilion Café for brews – the section was ultimately lifted into place in the Lancashire winter sunshine.
Glenn Cookson, chair of the Friends of the Old Tram Bridge, who has campaigned for the replacement, was pleased by the occasion.
He told Blog Preston: “What’s been fantastic is that the bridge has stayed on schedule, so credit to Eric Wright for that. It’s great to see it coming to fruition after all these years of campaigning.
“There were times through the campaign where it looked uncertain, but in the end everyone was able to work together for this new bridge.”
He added: “We’d draw attention to Daniel Dewhurst who was part of our campaign in the early days and played a massive role and without him we wouldn’t have made the progress we did as quickly as we did.”
The structure of the Old Tram Bridge was demolished in 2024 after being closed for more than five years with the replacement fulfilling the goal of maintaining the 220-year-old crossing from Avenham Park into Penwortham.
John Bridge, who led the designs for the bridge, told Blog Preston: “After years of work by everyone involved, this is the lovely bit we get as architects.
“This has been one awesome collaborative project and a lot of people can be proud of this. It’s not a road, it’s sustainable travel for pedestrians.
“I feel like there’s no better way to spend a bit of money like this. I don’t want to get political but this is a nice connection between Preston and South Ribble that people will have missed when it was closed.”
Over the coming days, the final three sections of the 150 tonnes of bridge sections will be positioned into place. The finishing work will then take place and the bridge will open in Spring 2026.
Cllr Valerie Wise, Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building at Preston City Council, told Blog Preston: “It’s been a long-time coming and the design is amazing. It’s going to be a real legacy project.
“I used to live near here and when we my kids were little we used to roller-skate across the old bridge. When they next come, maybe we’ll walk across.
“We’ve worked really well with Lancashire County Council and it’s been a real partnership project. It’s brilliant that it’s on time; when you think about all the considerations with the river and the weather, and salmon season, it’s been really good.
“There’s been a bridge here for hundreds of year and it is right that people from South Ribble can come and enjoy the city centre.”
