Work starts on Monday on the S-shaped bridge over the Floating Harbour which will connect Castle Park with Finzels Reach, the new city quarter being created on the former Courage Brewery site.
The 91m curved steel bridge will be assembled from parts weighing up to 20 tonnes transported by barge to Finzels Reach from Cattle Market Wharf next to Temple Meads Station, where they are being stored. 
The first small sections will be floated to the site on Monday with the final large section expected to be lowered into place on Thursday. Further work will then take place to stabilise and complete the bridge.
Made from a series of unique curved steel sections topped with timber decking, sculptured cladding and feature lighting, the £2.7m bridge will snake its way gracefully across the historic waterway to overcome the 7.5m height difference between the two banks.
When it opens early next year it will create a new cycling and pedestrian route, linking the area around Temple Meads to Castle Park and Cabot Circus. It will help knit the Finzels Reach site back into the fabric of the city, after more than 100 years of it being effectively closed off to the general public during its use first as a sugar refinery and later a brewery.
The ferry landing stage in Castle Park has also had a £30,000 upgrade as part of the work, which will improve access to the boats and increase ferry passenger numbers.
Gavin Bridge, director of Cubex, the developer behind Finzels Reach, said: “As many will have seen, there have been some eye-catching preparations for the bridge going on since the summer but the installation of the crossing itself is going to be quite a spectacle.
“This new route is going to be a striking addition to Bristol’s landscape and will provide a much-needed link to the city centre for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s a really exciting milestone for the new Finzels Reach city quarter and one which will benefit Bristolians, businesses and visitors to our city for many years to come.
An established bat corridor was discovered along the Castle Park side of the Floating Harbour during preparation work for the bridge. As a result, a number of bat boxes will also be installed to encourage bats to roost along the corridor and great care has had to be taken to ensure any new lighting does not interfere with the bats’ flight path.
Following the bridge’s installation, final works and testing will be carried out to ensure it is ready to receive the thousands of people expected to cross it each week.
When completed, the 4.7-acre Finzels Reach development will include 440 apartments, two Grade A office buildings, a 168-bedroom Premier Inn and cafes, restaurants and a microbrewery.
