MOTORISTS have had their journeys disrupted and diverted after one of the city's busiest roads has been closed to complete construction of a new footbridge.

Lewes Road in Brighton has been closed off between Coombe Road and just north of Natal Road until early Monday morning (January 31) as engineers work round-the-clock to finish the installation process of the bridge that will connect campus buildings of the University of Brighton, as well as communities on either side of the road.

The closure follows the first stage of installation last weekend, which saw the bridge's staircase put into place.

Pictures from the scene show some of the steel beams that will be winched carefully into place to span the full length of Lewes Road, which will be followed by six interlinked panels to form the deck of the bridge.

Once complete, the entire structure will stand nearly six metres above the road and weigh 191 tonnes - equivalent to 15 double decker buses.

The bridge is part of Brighton University's Big Build Project, which has seen the university's Moulsecoomb campus transformed in recent years.

Neil Heard White, Project Lead for the Big Build, said: "Installing a bridge of this size and scale over one of Brighton’s busiest roads is a major engineering challenge, but the team have done a great job so far.

"Once it’s complete, the footbridge will provide an iconic and accessible connection for our students and staff and the local community, and will put a real exclamation mark on the incredible transformation of this part of Brighton."

People travelling across the city have had their routes diverted along the A23 and A27.

Several bus routes have also been affected by the disruption, with routes 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 48, 49, 78 and the N25 night bus all being diverted while the road is closed.

Full details of diversions to services can be found on Brighton and Hove Buses' website.

The road is expected to reopen at 6am on Monday.

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