The bridge form, a pair of steel arches spanning 100m between concrete islands, rotates 40 degrees to permit vessels to pass beneath. The bridge deck provides both a footway and separate cycleway, taken in a wide curve across the river. It links Gateshead's arts quarter on the south bank with Newcastle's historic main quayside. Our bridge engineers developed the competition-winning concept design in collaboration with Wilkinson Eyre Architects to provide a new iconic structure for the new millennium.