ONE of the most visible elements of the construction process for the New Wear Crossing in Sunderland will be disappearing shortly, opening up another view of the bridge.

The cofferdam, a giant steel box in the middle of the River Wear, which has provided a dry area for the team to build the main foundations, is slowly being dismantled and is expected to disappear from view from the end of next week.

It will take the expert team of divers from James Fisher Marine Services a total of about three weeks to cut the 30x13m steel box down to riverbed level, exposing the bottom of the 105m pylon legs as they disappear into the water.

Working from a pontoon and using specialist underwater cutting equipment, the team of seven divers is removing the steel sheets in sections, up to 6m at a time when tidal conditions allow.

With just over half of the cofferdam cut away, the sheet piles are gradually being removed during a carefully orchestrated operation, which is closely monitored by underwater cameras that feed into CCTV screens above water in the dive control room.

Dive Supervisor Alex Wignall, from James Fisher Marine Services, said: “The operation to remove the steel sections of the cofferdam is going well.

“The cofferdam is quite a size, and we have to work around the tides, so it’s a fairly slow process, but when we lift the sections of steel out of the water you can really appreciate the scale of what we’re doing.”

The project is due to be completed next spring.