The finishing touches are being applied to Poole’s Twin Sails Bridge in time for the arrival of HRH The Princess Royal, reports Bournemouth Echo.

Engineers are said to be adding steel cladding to each of the four 7-metre high totems, which house the bridge’s “barriers, lights, speakers and traffic controls that communicate with the control room.”

Image source

41 separate sections of steel

Image source

Cladding the structure is one of the last tasks in the project, which has taken 20-months to complete at a cost of £37 million. It is the second Poole Harbour bridge to cross the Back Water Channel.

One of the major obstacles for the team was that they had to weld together 41 separate sections of steel on-site to make up the bridge deck and lifting leaves.

Symbolising the sails of a yacht

Last month, the Borough of Poole council announced that the structure, which features two triangular shaped lifting leaves to symbolise the sails of a yacht, will be open for business from 27 February, reports BBC News.

Councillors plan to hold a community event on the bridge later in the month, on 25 and 26 February, before HRH The Princess Royal visits the spectacle in early March. Commenting on how it feels to be nearing the finish line, Poole council strategic director Jim Bright, remarked:

“It is truly a wonderful sight and contractors are currently putting the finishing touches on the bridge.”