THE centrepiece of Sunderland’s new bridge – the impressive A-frame pylon – has begun its slow journey to the North-East.

The 100m steel structure has been loaded out of the fabrication yard in Belgium this week and transported to the Port of Ghent in a carefully orchestrated operation that took several days to complete.

Victor Buyck Steel Construction, which is working with Farrans Construction to build the New Wear Crossing on behalf of Sunderland City Council, has spent the last year fabricating the pylon at its yard in Ghent.

Made with more than 1,000 tonnes of steel and 550 tonnes of concrete, the structure is so big that the final stages of the fabrication process had to be completed in the open air, and it had to be loaded onto two barges before it could be transported along the canal to the port.

Sarens, a world leader specialising in heavy lifting and engineered transport, is working with Farrans and Victor Buyck (FVB) to bring the remarkable structure to Sunderland.

Jim Kilcar, Bridge Supervisor for Atkins, which is supervising the New Wear Crossing project for Sunderland City Council, said the operation had gone extremely well.

“The loading out of the pylon from Victor Buyck’s fabrication yard was a major milestone and something we have been planning for a long time,” he said.

“The sheer size and weight of the pylon meant that it was never going to be an easy task and therefore specialists from Sarens were brought in to devise and oversee operations.

“The pylon was inched out over two days while ballast was adjusted on the barges to keep everything balanced.

“It was a very measured and steady operation – it has gone really well. It’s a magnificent structure. It’s only when you’re up close to it that you can really appreciate just how big it is.”

During the load-out operation, the pylon was supported on a series of computerised wheeled units, which gradually rolled the enormous structure onto the barges over a two-day period.

Once the pylon was in place, the barges were then rotated into position on the canal and the pylon was lowered to enable it to travel under several relatively low bridges on its three-hour journey to the Port of Ghent.

The New Wear Crossing is on track to open in spring 2018.

With dual 2-lane carriageways for vehicles and dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes, the New Wear Crossing will enhance public transport as well as significantly improve the important transport links to the city centre and Port of Sunderland from the A19 and A1.