THE finishing touch to a £2.1m refurbishment of a North-East bridge has been unveiled by a civic leader.
A crest, in the centre of the Wearmouth Bridge, in Sunderland, has been carefully restored to its original red and gold colours with six coats of special paint.
City council leader, Councillor Bob Symonds and colleague Councillor Ian Galbraith, cabinet member for environment, development and transport, unveiled the crest to mark the end of the 18-month restoration of the River Wear crossing.
Tens of thousands of pedestrians and motorists will be able to see the crest, at the centre of the bridge, which carries the A1018 between north and south Sunderland.
It was taken from the original Victorian-built bridge and placed on the Wearmouth Bridge when it opened in 1929.
Its restoration was the idea of Kevin Johnson, of the city council's development and regeneration department.
Backed by the Old Township and Heritage Society, he found a picture of the original crest in the city centre library to use as a template.
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