A major milestone has been reached in the construction of a new road bridge in Moray.

The structure will be over the River Lossie in Elgin.

The 850-tonne weight of the bridge, which is a key component of Moray Council's £86m flood alleviation scheme for the town, has been supported from beneath by a number of temporary steel towers.

Due to open to traffic in April, the bridge deck has now been lifted off the temporary supports and suspended from four large steel arches by 16 hanger cables. These arches and hangers are now bearing the weight of the bridge deck. The steel towers will now be removed to allow landscaping of the river banks and the new flood relief channel which has been created as part of the flood scheme.

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Once the new structure, which will be known as the Landshut Bridge, is completed, the temporary bridge which has carried traffic over the River Lossie since March 2012 will be demolished.

Work on the flood scheme started in April 2011 and is on schedule for completion in spring 2015.

(JP/MH)