Designed in collaboration with engineers Peter Brett Associates, the new £5.9m bridge is funded through Reading Borough Council’s successful £20.7m bid for support from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) and provides an important new link for pedestrians and cyclists between Reading Town Centre, the upgraded rail station and Caversham’s riverside areas. Planning permission was granted in October 2013 and main contractor Balfour Beatty working with the steel fabricator Hollandia started construction in November 2014, with completion in August 2015. The location of the new bridge is just to the north of Reading Town Centre, between Fry’s Island and Reading Bridge. A single masted cable stayed structure was developed for the principal river span due to its lightness of appearance, value for money, deliverability (including ease of construction), and clear navigation width. The structure creates a river span of 68m and a land span of 54m supported by a mast of 39m height located above the north bank of the River Thames. Even though the bridge is the key structural component it has been necessary to develop a different approach to how the bridge deck meets the southern towpath. It was considered important that due to the relationship between the single mast and the bridge deck that the overall impression is that the bridge is in balance. These two elements were therefore treated as a separate entity. The ramp and stair structure sit within the River Thames, a gentle curve to the ramp and stair gives a breathing space to the towpath that increases as the structure rises to meet the bridge. The balustrading to the ramp is formed from a series of random vertical bars made from weathering steel at different angles to echo the natural reed banks which part of the river edge along this part of the Thames.