It's not the world's end as we know it, but the new bridge will do fine

And while the new crossing may not last until the world's end, but it should be good enough for the next 120 years.

No one knows why the bridge over Cod Beck, near Thirsk, was named World's End bridge but the new one is capable of carrying road vehicles up to 44 tonnes.

When it was realised the old bridge had reached the end of its useful life and would have to be replaced, the county council commissioned consultants Mouchel Parkman to design a new structure.

There was extensive consultation with local communities about rebuilding the bridge. The simple way would have been to close the road fully, demolish the bridge and give contractors unlimited access to the site while building a new one.

Councillor Peter Sowray, the county council's executive member for environmental services, said: "After talks with local people, it soon became obvious that that would cause too much disruption to their lives, so we put a temporary bridge on the site to maintain traffic flows and also to allow the rebuilding work to go ahead safely. We also consulted with the parish council over the design of the new structure and the attractive brick parapets were built as a result of those consultations.

"The county council is very pleased with the look and quality of the new bridge and hope that it lasts for a very long time, if not until the world's end."

Mike Moore, the county council's director of environmental services, said: "It's good that we've been able to replace the old bridge with a new one which complements its surroundings and the conservation area."