A sight to see: police will escort new 33m long walkway as it makes its way to Heysham Port

As we reported in February, Heysham engineering firm Alan Dick Engineering Ltd are behind the major project for the new structure.

The bespoke machining and fabrication firm, based in Middleton Road, was tasked with manufacturing the walkway after a tender process.

Managing director Steve Evans said this was the biggest project - in scale - the firm had undertaken.

Over the course of several weeks, the metalwork has been prepared by a team of welding fabricators, before being coated with weather and salt-resistant specialist red paint at Bartlett's in Barrow.

The walkway, which will provide access for personnel at the port for purposes such as re-fuelling boats, rather than being for pedestrians, was built in three parts - each weighing around 3.3 tons - before being welded together to form a permanent structure of around 33 metres.

It will now be loaded onto a trailer using cranes, with delivery to the port scheduled for tomorrow morning, Thursday, at around 3am.

A road closure and police escort are likely to be needed for the structure to make its way by trailer from the Alan Dick premises to the port.

The walkway will then be installed at the port when the tidal conditions are correct. A crane on a barge will help lift the structure into position.

The walkway was needed after damage was caused to its predecessor by a boat.

The new walkway will hopefully have a lifespan of several decades.