Poole’s Twin Sails Bridge Begins to Take Shape

The first sail of the new Twin Sails Bridge in Dorset, south-west England, is being moved into place as part of Poole’s second harbour crossing.

Hochtief (UK) Construction is the general contractor for the project.

The moving of the first sail is the latest milestone in the £37m project, which will see the Twin Sails Bridge open in early 2012.

Each of the four sections will be lifted onto a barge using mobile transporters before being floated along the Backwater Channel.

The bridge deck and lifting leaves are made up of 41 separate sections of steel which have been welded together on-site over recent months.

The new bridge will provide improved links to 26ha of brownfield land, which is a planned regeneration site with plans for construction of up to 2,000 homes over the next ten to 15 years.