THE official re-opening of Stourport Bridge takes place this weekend.

This follows the first major refurbishment of the bridge since its construction in 1870 with a £1.5 million development.

Chairman of the county council, Cllr John Smith, will be joined by the county council's cabinet member for environment, Cllr Derek Prodger, and the Mayor of Stourport, Cllr Michael Salter for the ceremony.

The work itself took nearly 14 months to complete while appointing a contractor and drawing up the scheme in consultation with community representatives took 12 months.

Contractors, Edmund Nuttall, reinforced the structure with concrete, added additional waterproofing, repaired and replaced decorative features, installed special kerb units, moved telephone and power beneath the bridge deck and resurfaced the road.

The final painting works on the bridge were completed in the last week before Christmas.

The ceremonial cutting of the ribbon will take place on Saturday at 11am.