THE final phase of a massive rebuilding project at an historic landmark will get underway today.

The 155-year-old Mercury Bridge at Richmond collapsed after severe flooding of the River Swale last June, cutting off the main link from the town to Catterick Garrison.

But contractors working on the £2m restoration project say the bridge should be completely repaired by the Autumn.

Engineers will be working in the river to remove more than 200 tonnes of steel, which was used to support the bridge while the repairs were carried out.

The work will also involve re-seeding and re-planting areas affected by the construction work, as well as rebuilding a wall which was opened up to get equipment on to the site.

Surveys are also being carried out in the river to ensure protection work to the bridge piers has been effective and is not posing problems to the riverbed downstream.

North Yorkshire County Council's director of environmental services, Mike Moore, said: "There is still a fair amount of work which needs to be done in terms of restoration to the site.

"Unfortunately, the steelwork couldn't be removed as there was a reasonable long-range weather forecast to see the river level drop - and none of the other work could be done until there was drier weather on the site."

Updated: 16.05 Tuesday, April 17