Engineers used space technology to wheel a £100 million bridge into place at Gatwick.

The 3,000-tonne bridge took almost a year to build and is part of the airport's Pier 6 project.

Using rolling equipment similar to that used to transport space shuttles, workers moved the bridge from where it was being built, about a mile from the airport.

It was raised to a height of 32m on Monday night. The Pier 6 project is part of the biggest scheme at Gatwick since the opening of the North Terminal and the first of its kind in the world.

The first aircraft, a Boeing 747-400, will pass under the bridge on May 28.

The bridge will provide a pedestrian link for passengers, with walkways in both directions, and eventually 12 aircraft stands for the terminal.

At its peak it will accommodate up to 2,400 passengers an hour. It is estimated it will save up to 50,000 coach journeys a year.

Passengers will be able to use the walkway by next spring.

The new link is part of a £1 billion expansion programme at the airport to cope with increasing passenger numbers, expected to rise from the current 30 million to 40 million by 2011.

Wednesday May 19, 2004