Volker Stevin set for Wear footbridge green light

Volker Stevin is expected to move on site within weeks to start construction of a £31m footbridge in Sunderland city centre.

CGI of the New Wear Footbridge from belowMobilisation for the New Wear Footbridge will follow Sunderland City Council’s cabinet meeting this week, which is expected to sign off the bridge plans.

Plans for the bridge were unveiled in 2019, with outline planning consent granted in 2021.

The bridge will connect the former Vaux Brewery site to Sheepfolds, improving connectivity between the city centre and Sunderland FC’s Stadium of Light football stadium. It will also help to unlock development in the Sheepfolds neighbourhood, where construction of 500 new homes is proposed.

It will have creative lighting and augmented reality, enabling users to access virtual displays on their smart phones.

The New Wear Footbridge is a small but important part of a wider £500m regeneration scheme for the banks of the River Wear and the city centre, which also includes new housing, offices and a library.Volker Stevin is working with consulting engineer Arup,

Knight Architects and a local landscape architect, Colour.  VolkerStevin was named preferred contractor back in September 2021.

The 250-metre-long steel-concrete composite structure will span the river at a height of more than  30 metres. The bridge will have an overall width of 10 metres including 9.4 metres to be used by unsegregated pedestrians and cyclists.

Wear Bridge was one of the first contracts to be procured through the new NEPO civil engineering and infrastructure framework.

Sunderland City Council leader Graeme Miller said: “We’re delighted to be moving through the final phase of scoping and design, and ready to commence works on a bridge that is a key component of our plans for Riverside Sunderland.

“The bridge is a key connector as we advance plans both sides of the river, so I am very much looking forward to seeing Volker Stevin break ground in a matter of weeks, with a view to the bridge opening in 2025.”

The two images below show how the bridge design has been refined since 2021. The first image shows the current 2023 design; the bottom image is from 2021.