Space shuttle technology will be used to roll a £100 million bridge into position at Gatwick airport this weekend.

The bridge, which weighs 3,000 tonnes and will be raised to a height of 32 metres, has taken almost a year to build.

It is part of Pier 6, the biggest project at Gatwick since the opening of the North Terminal and the first of its kind in the world.

It will provide 12 aircraft stands for the North Terminal and is due to be completed next spring.

Airliners, including jumbo jets, will be able to pass under the bridge connecting the pier to the terminal.

Rolling equipment similar to that used in the transport of space shuttles will used to transport the bridge from where it is being built, about a mile from the airport.

Sean Horkan, general manager of the North Terminal and chairman of the Pier 6 project board, said: "We have a great team working on the project and there is a real buzz around the airport as we approach the move of the passenger bridge."

The move, which will take place overnight on Sunday, is expected to take about seven hours.

On Monday the bridge will be raised to its full height - about the same as Gatwick's Le Meridien Hotel.

The taxiway will be closed from Sunday until May 27 when the first aircraft, a Boeing 747-400, will pass under the bridge.

An airport spokesman said there would be no disruption to flights or passengers.

The project is part of a £1 billion development programme to cope with soaring passenger numbers. Thirty million a year pass through Gatwick and that is expected to rise to 40 million by 2011.

The bridge will provide a pedestrian link for passengers with travelators and walkways in both directions and a glazed facade giving views across the airport.

At its peak the pier will be able to accommodate 2,400 passengers an hour and the bridge will save up to 50,000 coach journeys a year.

Work on the project was due to start on the eve of September 11, 2001, but was postponed until last year.

Thursday May 13, 2004