GEORGE Leslie Limited has been awarded a £1.2 million contract to carry out work to extend the life of the linkspan at Gourock Ferry Terminal.
Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), which owns the terminal, has awarded the contract to the civil engineering contractor. George Leslie will now carry out repairs to the linkspan support structures and replace the steel deck and associated mechanical and electrical equipment.
Work is scheduled to start on 5 October and complete just before Christmas, subject to weather conditions. This includes a nine-week closure period for the linkspan from 19 October to 18 December.
Once complete, the new linkspan will be able to carry vehicles, meaning Gourock will be available as an alternative mainland port for vehicle services.
Paul Colenso, senior civil engineer at CMAL explained, “Ferry passengers will no doubt be pleased to learn that this construction work is set to get underway soon. We know passengers travelling to and from Gourock have been inconvenienced due to age-related issues with the linkspan. The infrastructure is old and will benefit from being replaced, but in the meantime, these life-extending measures will improve the resilience of the linkspan until a new one is built as part of the terminal redevelopment.
“We recognise a nine-week closure period will present some challenges for passengers and we intend to make every effort to reduce the closure period, if it’s possible to do so during construction.”
