THE installation of nuts weighing 70kg each to secure cables supporting the Gateway Bridge on the A465 may entail road closures over this week - but there is light at the end of the tunnel according to contractors.

Jeff Mapps, of construction firm, Costain explains, ‘The works on the Gateway Bridge arch have made significant progress over the past few weeks with a majority of the cables installed during this time.

‘Once the cables are installed the final deck connections will be made, requiring nuts & washers to be fitted to the end of each cable. The next phase of the operation requires tensioning the cable to remove the cable’s sag.

‘Each nut weighs 70kgs and will be lifted into place by a crane set-up on the deck of the bridge and/or on the A465.

‘This is the last phase of work on the bridge that will require a substantial road closure overnight on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week and we fully appreciate that the closures to date have been disruptive and inconvenient.

‘However, our primary objective has always been the safety of the public and our workforce and we cannot relent on that standard of operation as we move into the final stages of the bridge construction.’

‘Completion of the Gateway Bridge is critical to the works programme as it enables us progress other works in the area, such as the demolition of Intermediate Road Bridge and the construction of the Brynmawr roundabout link road.

‘Following this closure we do not have any further weekend road closures planned until June. We very much appreciate your continued support and tolerance.’