Lowestoft's third river bridge gets county council approval

Plans for the third crossing of Lake Lothing, which divides south and north Lowestoft, were approved earlier this year

A third water crossing for Lowestoft has been given unanimous approval by the county council.

The Lake Lothing bridge will be known as Gull Wing after being named by children from a local primary school.

Suffolk County Council's cabinet also agreed to borrow extra funds for additional costs which had increased from £91m to about £125m.

Construction work is expected to start in the spring, with Gull Wing opening in the summer of 2023.

The crossing is planned to reduce congestion in and around the town, particularly around the Bascule Bridge area, and help attract investment.

"It will be an infrastructure project of national importance and a really significant step forward for the town of Lowestoft and the whole of the east coast region," said Suffolk County Council leader Matthew Hicks.

Somerleyton Primary School pupils Jack and Hayden with Matthew Hicks (far left), Waveney MP Peter Aldous (second right) and Norman Brooks

A local schools competition was held to find a name for the new bridge, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"The V-shape of the new bridge looks like a bird's wings and, of course, what seaside town is complete without gulls," said Somerleyton Primary School head teacher Louise Spall.

The third crossing will be between the existing Bascule Bridge at the eastern end of the waterway and the other crossing at Oulton Broad

Like the Bascule Bridge, it will raise to allow tall boats to pass

It is hoped the bridge will be in use by the summer of 2023

The project's final business case will be submitted to the Department for Transport by the end of August.

The government's contribution to the bridge remains at £73.39m, meaning the remainder will be borrowed by the county council, which also includes some contingency funds.