CONCEIVED in a flash of inspiration, the graceful arch of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a feast for the eyes - and thousands of feet have been itching to cross it since it first graced the North-East skyline.

Affectionately nicknamed the Blinking Eye, the £22m rotating pedestrian and cycle bridge will open to the public on Monday.

The celebrations begin tonight with the unveiling of a high-tech, multi-coloured lighting system, which will create stunning reflections.

Few people could be more proud than John Johnson, director of design and construction at Gateshead Borough Council, who grew up on the banks of the River Tyne, and went on to oversee the project.

Emotion brimming in his eyes, he said: "I used to come down and play here and kick stones about. Now look at it."

Mr Johnson described how the council had taken a leap of faith when it decided, five years ago, to create the new link.

In a competition that demanded a combination of architectural flair and engineering excellence, the design by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and engineers Gifford and Partners was a clear winner.

Wilkinson Eyre senior partner Jim Eyre said: "The concept came in a flash of inspiration.

"We could not go straight across the river, because the gradient would be too steep, and so came up with the idea of a curved structure.

"We then started to think of tipping it along its length."

Fleshed out with the help of engineers, the idea became a technological marvel, with the facts speaking for themselves.

The bridge weighs more than 850 tonnes and contains enough steel to make 64 double-decker buses, or 16 Chieftain tanks.

And what is not visible is impressive in its own right.

The structure sits on 19,000 tonnes of concrete - enough to make 600,000 paving stones, which would stretch 180 miles - as well as 650 tonnes of steel reinforcement.

And, with a span of 413ft, the pivoting design demands that it is manufactured precisely to a tolerance of just one-eighth of an inch.

Two concrete piers on each side of the river hide the massive hydraulic rams, pivots and motors which open the bridge in four minutes.

It is powered by eight electric motors pushing out 589 horse power - more power than the fastest sports cars like the Ferrari F50 or, for the man in the street, eight Ford Escort cars.

Yet the design is so energy-efficient that it uses just £3.60 worth of electricity each time the structure opens.

While the footway is solid steel, the cycle path is perforated aluminium, with gaps to give a view of the water below.

With every attention to detail, designers even considered carelessly discarded litter, which will roll into special traps each time the bridge opens.

Built by Harbour and General of Gateshead, it will lie at the heart of the new cultural quarter, including the £70m Music Centre, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Tyne Bridge Hilton International - an enduring monument to a fleeting idea.