A WORLD-FAMOUS bridge builder has strengthened its order book with a 228-tonne project.

Cleveland Bridge has installed a crossing in South Wales for Network Rail.

The contract provides further encouragement for the Darlington-based business, which earlier this year recorded its first profit in four years and saw exports more than double to £33.7m.

Bosses say the 50-metre Welsh road bridge spans the Great Western Main Line train route, in Newport, and has supported improvements to overhead power lines.

Made at its Darlington factory, the structure was hauled 280 miles by road to Wales, where Cleveland Bridge also acted to remove the existing crossing.

Chris Droogan, managing director, said the business was delighted to provide its services.

He added: “Our engineers and contractors worked in unison with Network Rail meeting strict timescales to minimise impact on one of the busiest rail routes in the UK.

“Electrification is an essential element of upgrading the rail infrastructure, which requires a broad and skilled supply chain that is able to deliver programmes efficiently.

“This project clearly demonstrated our capabilities and the role we are playing in the future of UK railways.”

The contract is another fillip for Cleveland Bridge, which employs nearly 300 people, after it revealed in May it had returned to profit under the guidance of a new management team.

The firm’s order book has been bolstered by a number of high-profile agreements, including the installation of the 57-metre long Agricola Bridge, near Catterick Racecourse, as part of the A1 upgrade, and deals to send hundreds of bridges to Sri Lanka.

The Northern Echo last year exclusively revealed the company was making crossings for jungle and rural areas in a contract that followed a £35m agreement won in 2013 to produce more than 200 structures for the Asian country.

Fabrication has been carried out in Darlington throughout 2016, with the last crossings expected to be shipped and installed by early 2018.