Beaver Bridges win Best Small Project Award for Lossiemouth East Beach Bridge build
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THE company behind the building of the new East Beach Bridge in Lossiemouth has received an award its construction.
Beaver Bridges received the Best Small Project Award at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association Scotland Awards.
The hotly-contested award was given to a project that benefited locals and exhibited close community engagement.
"We are extremely proud to have worked on the scheme and to have worked so closely with the community," said Beaver Bridges' sales director Richard Hinckley.
"The community involvement was key, we worked close with locals and they embraced us.
"We had a lot of interest locally – not just people wondering when the bridge was going to open, but what materials we were using and how we were going about the construction.
"We did work with local schools and even had a live webcam of the bridge's construction which was beamed around the world as expats were taking an interest.
"Lossiemouth is a lovely town but tourists go their to enjoy the beach and the sunshine – and we opened that for people."
The East Beach Bridge was officially opened in summer with an event that involved local schools and saw pipers play.
MORE: Lossiemouth East Beach Bridge officially opens
Richard said that, on the first weekend of its opening, 4000 people crossed the bridge onto the East Beach. In the first five months, 200,000 people have used the bridge.
"We knew that the local tourism industry was losing half a million pounds a year due to the bridge being closed," he added.
"We also noted the importance of the old bridge. We have seen that people are being offered parts of that to keep, which is a nice touch.
"We have had some excellent feedback on the bridge. We're proud we got the projects and hope we've left behind a good legacy."
Rab Forbes, of Lossiemouth Community Development Trust, added: "This is a reflection on the work done by Beaver Bridges.
"The award was mainly due to the interaction within the community. When Beaver Bridges came to Lossie they quickly realised it's more than just a bridge here.
"It's a piece of history and we hope the new bridge will become iconic, too."
