The winners of a worldwide competition to rebuild the Pennington Road Bridge in the Housing Market Renewal area of Bootle in Sefton are set to see their vision become a reality.

Work has started on the project which saw nearly a hundred entries whittled down to one joint submission from Softroom Architects and Eckersley O'Callaghan Structural engineers.

They were chosen by a judging panel made up of Sefton Council HMR Team, local residents, British Waterways and an architectural advisor in the international contest organised by Sefton Council and RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects).

The new bridge, which is made from Eki Hardwood, specified from a sustainable source, is set to provide a gateway to Bootle for people using the canal, and with the new link up at the Pier Head in Liverpool, it's hoped that the bridge will become a landmark structure to the area.

The main challenge for the designer was to make sure the bridge was accessible to wheelchair users on such a constrained site. Softroom were able to do this with a clever design that incorporates the ramping and steps in the limited space available.

Project Manager Lee Payne from Sefton Council's Housing Market Renewal Team said:

"After more than a year of hard work and preparation, it's so exciting to finally be at the stage when we're seeing the bridge coming out of the ground. The project has been closely followed by the residents in the area and they can't wait to see the finished article early next year."

Architect Mike Shaw from Softroom said:

"There were a number of challenges in designing a replacement for the Pennington Road Bridge. It's already well used by people in the area but we have ensured that it will be accessible to all by incorporating gentle ramps up to bridge level on both sides of the canal. We were delighted when our design was chosen and are looking forward to seeing it come to life."

The contract to build the bridge was awarded to Wrenco Contractors Ltd and is expected to be completed in February 2010.