The longest bridge of its type in Scotland gets put in place this weekend as Falkirk Council prepares to install a new footbridge spanning the main Glasgow to Edinburgh rail line at Redding near Falkirk.

The 56m (184ft) long and 1.8m (6ft) wide steel bridge is the longest 'Warren Truss' footbridge in Scotland with two 200 tonne cranes being used in the nine hour operation between midnight and 9.00 am on Sunday 23 August.

The contractor carrying out the work is Raynesway Construction.

'Warren Truss' bridges were originally devised in 1848 and are made up from equilateral triangle shaped spaces along its length ensuring that structural members give an efficient combination of strength and economy of materials.

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The bridge features 1.5m high parapets made from a translucent glass reinforced plastic that allows more light through than traditional solid opaque panels common on this type of design.

It's the first time that this material has been used over a railway line in Scotland.

The design also allows a low cost to the project using only 50 tonnes of steel with the combined costs of the foundations and the structure coming in at £350,000.

The bridge is located on the B805 Redding Road between Overton Crescent and School Road and preparatory work has been ongoing for the past three weeks with the removal of the existing footbridge, originally built in 1953.

Cllr Charles MacDonald, Falkirk Council's Convener of Environment and Community Safety, said: "This is a major engineering achievement and it is certainly a big improvement on the old structure. Our own in-house design team have acted as consultants throughout the project and have devised a first class structure at a relatively low cost."

He added: "We're pleased that we have been able to use modern design and construction techniques and hope the bridge is well used by the local community for many years to come."

(GK/KMcA)