Work begins on £7m Elgin bridge over River Lossie

WORK began today on the construction of a new £7 million bridge over the River Lossie in Elgin

An artist's impression of how the new bridge will look. Picture: Complimentary

The new bridge is part of Moray Council’s £86 million flood alleviation scheme for the area’s main town, due to be completed early in 2015.

A spokesman for Moray Council explained: “Large sections of the new bridge over the River Lossie at Elgin’s Pansport Road are being lifted into place today. The 24-tonne sections will be lifted into place using one of Scotland’s biggest mobile cranes, capable of lifting 700 tonnes.”

Councillor Allan Wright, the leader of Moray Council, described the construction of the new bridge as a landmark in the progress towards the completion of the flood protection scheme.

He said: “There has been a lot of work undertaken since the scheme started in 2011, and we are starting to see the impact on the town’s landscape. This is a huge investment by the council to protect homes and businesses, and it feels like we’re making great progress.”

The Pansport Bridge is the second bridge to be erected in the past week as part of flood alleviation schemes in the area. A 75-tonne footbridge was craned into place over the River Findhorn last Wednesday as part of the £45 million flood alleviation scheme for Forres.

Councillor George Alexander, a Forres councillor and chairman of the Moray Council’s Flood Alleviation Sub Committee, said: The work done on both schemes has already improved flood protection for many residents and businesses. And each stage that is reached the protection gets better. We’ll all look forward to 2015 when both the Forres and Elgin schemes are completed and everyone is protected.”

The Elgin scheme is currently on schedule to be completed by May, 2015. It will protect 600 homes and 250 businesses when complete, and it will cope with 190 tonnes of floodwater per second. Elgin suffered catastrophic floods in 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2009, causing millions of pounds of damage and forcing people from their homes for months while repairs took place.