A new bridge carrying pedestrians and cyclists over the River Lossie is set to be put in place later this month.
The 25meter wooden decked bridge will link Bishopmill with Elgin town centre and is just the latest part of the £86million flood alleviation scheme to be put in place.
It will be installed on the site that was once home to its predecessor on the south end of Bridge Street. The new bridge will have a steel superstructure that weighs in at almost 30tonnes, and has been fabricated by Huddersfield-based CTS Bridges.
When it has been lowered into place by a crane on December 11 it will be completed with ten utility ducts carrying electricity, gas and telecommunication equipment. Work is expected to be completed on the bridge to allow it to open in April 2015.
Councillor George Alexander, chair of Moray Council’s flood alleviation sub-committee, said the installation of the new bridge and associated works represented one of the last major elements of the overall scheme.
He added: “The end of the project – the biggest flood scheme ever built in Scotland – is now in sight.
“The heavy rain that we had back in August showed that the scheme does what it was intended to do and that is to save families and business owners from the heartache of flooding.
“They have had more than their share of that in the past and they will be both delighted and relieved to see the Elgin scheme coming to a conclusion.”