A SPECTACULAR firework display and the Olympic Flame marked the completion of another pioneering bridge project by Cleveland Bridge of Darlington.

At 2,252m, the Rion-Antirion has the longest suspended deck in the world and is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges.

It has fulfilled a century-old Greek dream, spanning the Gulf of Corinth to link the Peloponnese and mainland Greece and offers a five-minute car journey as an alternative to the 45 minute ferry trip.

The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games takes place today and the bridge officially opened to traffic yesterday, but on Saturday a spectacular fireworks display and a concert by popular Greek musicians was staged.

On Sunday, the Olympic flame crossed the bridge, followed by the Greek Olympic Football team.

With a single span of 560 metres, the Rion-Antirion bridge ranks in the top ten of the world longest spans for cable-stayed bridges. The Tatara Bridge in Japan and the Normandy Bridge in France have the longest spans in the world, 890 metres and 856 metres respectively.

However with its four pylons, compared with the usual set of two, the Rion-Antirion bridge is the cable-stayed bridge with the world's longest suspended deck.

The total deck length, completed by Cleveland Bridge, outperforms the 1,996 metres of the well-known Golden Gate suspension bridge.

Cleveland Bridge has overcome significant problems since it started work for main contractor, Kinopraxia Gefyra, in August 2001, and completed the project 4 months ahead of schedule.

The bridge, which will become a Greek legend, can withstand a collision with a 180,000-ton tanker; a wind speed of up to 250km an hour, and an earthquake that reaches more than seven on the Richter scale.

In the event of an earthquake, say bridge designers, the bridge is one of the safest places to be in the whole of Greece.

Alan Platt, Cleveland Bridge project manager, said: "This has been an amazing project and an awesome achievement for all of us who have been involved.

"We feel honoured to have been a part of building this monster structure. This weekend's celebration was the perfect way to mark the successful completion for all who have worked so hard on this tremendous project.