A bridge which will carry the new West Link road over the River Ness is now one third complete.
One of the biggest cranes in Britain has been lifting giant steel beams into place this week for the new River Ness bridge. The beams were lifted in pairs on the south side of the river.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said that the crane will be taken apart and rebuilt to the north side of the river next week and, standing at over 328ft high, lift the north third in, followed by the central sections.
The structure will be temporarily bolted together prior to the welding of the central sections. Once in place, the contractors will quickly move to cast the concrete to provide the bridge deck and containment barrier.
In July, works will re-commence in the river to install the scour protection for the bridge piers – to protect from very significant flood flows.
The work marks the next stage of the city’s long-awaited £55million West Link project.
By 2020, motorists should be able to travel from the A96 Aberdeen road and A9 Perth route, along the southern distributor road to the A82 Fort William road, via a new bridge over the River Ness and a swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal.
It is hoped the completion of the congestion-busting bypass will take thousands of vehicles out of the city centre.
The council spokeswoman added: “The West Link and Canal Parks Enhancement are progressing well and remain on programme and on budget.
“The road is now well developed with surfacing works progressing, benefiting from the continued good weather. Roadworks and surfacing is ongoing from both the north and south side converging on the bridge crossing site.”
The glazing for the new Canal Parks Clubhouse is now in and external blockwork is progressing well. During the ruby closed season, the existing clubhouse will be demolished and the new synthetic pitch will be created and two other grass pitches prepared to allow handover in August.
