River Aire crossing restored as part of Leeds 400

A Leeds city centre footbridge spanning the River Aire has been restored to mark 400 years of the city.

Centenary Bridge, crossing the river between The Calls and Brewery Wharf, has been repainted and upgraded by the city council as part of celebrations marking four centuries since Leeds was awarded its first royal charter by King Charles I.

Completed in 1993, the cable-stayed bridge was the first river crossing built in the city for more than a century.

The work has revived memories for the bridge's designer, Colin Harris, who worked on sketches at his dining room table using a drawing pin and a piece of string.

The former University of Leeds civil engineering graduate said it was "wonderful" he had been given the chance to design something that had transformed part of the city.

After returning to Leeds in 1989 following work on projects around the world, one of Harris' first commissions was designing the crossing.

"We were in offices right next to the bridge site, and I was having a coffee with the landlord one day," Harris recalled.

"He said, 'what would it take to put a bridge across from here to over there?'

"I said I would do some sketches, and that's how it all began."

The first designs of the bridge, with its distinctive curved shape, were sketched out at his dining room table, he said.

"The initial ideas you think with a pencil, and then you start to put some engineering detail into it."

He said the bridge needed to be high enough to allow boats underneath, so the structure's curved profile was appropriate.

Installing the structure required two cranes - one weighing 500 tonnes and the other 350 tonnes.

"They had these two cranes in sort of symphony of trying to thread the deck through the A-frame tower and the whole thing into place over the river," he recalled.

"That was very, very interesting to watch and showed the capability of everyone involved."

Standing at 18m (59ft) high and stretching 43m (141ft) across the river, the bridge cost about £600,000 to build.

"The footbridge was opening in the early 1990s when there was very little at the south side, but now we're seeing all these offices, bars and clubs and it's great to think that we've played a part in that process," he added.

Work to repaint the bridge involved workers using an elevated platform to reach the highest points.

The authority said the restoration was intended to support the growing number of people living and working along the riverside.

Councillor Salma Arif, the council's executive member for economy, said: "It's wonderful that during this very special year, we've been able to bring Centenary Bridge back to its best.

"The project has given us the opportunity to rediscover the story behind a structure which played an early role in sparking the regeneration of the South Bank."

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