Six in hunt for £40m Twin Sails lift bridge

Six contractors are hoping to sail away with a £40m contract to build an iconic new lifting bridge in Poole Harbour, Dorset.

BAM Nuttall, Hochtief, Kier Construction, Vinci UK, and VolkerStevin and all in the running for the deal. Northern Irish firm John Graham (Dromore) also made the shortlist after Costain dropped out.

Twin Sails, a double leaf lifting road bridge, will act as a second crossing at Poole Harbour, linking Hamworthy with Poole Port.

The proposed design for Poole Harbour's Twin Sails lift bridge

Architect Wilkison Eyre and engineer Gifford have designed the structure, whose opening span will be comprised of two opposed, long triangles, instead of using conventional rectangular leaves. The leaves will lie side by side when closed, but will resemble the masts of two ships when raised.

The project has faced almost five years of delays with disputes over redevelopment proposals and has doubled in cost over that time.

A contract award is now set to be made on 30 October, and construction work is expected to last for 20 months.

A source close to the project said: "This is an iconic job and subcontractors have been clamouring to find out who might be involved, so it's good to finally find out who's on the shortlist."

Earlier this month, Poole Council reached an agreement with landowners JJ Gallagher and Land Improvement Holdings allowing the construction of the bridge without the need for a compulsory purchase order. The bridge will be part funded by the South West Regional Development Agency, which is providing a £10m grant.