The new road bridge spanning Peel harbour has been completed ahead of schedule.

The bridge, built at a cost of just over £500,000 replaced the old-fashioned hardwood timber bridge, which was built in 1938.

The project, undertaken by contractors Paul Carey and Sons Ltd, which began in October 2018 and had been planned to take 20 weeks.

But the bridge was ready to open this week, about two weeks early.

The bridge is a single span structure with a concrete road on steel beams and can carry two lanes of traffic, along with a footpath, for pedestrians.

The load bearing has also more than doubled to 44 tonnes up from the previous bridge’s limit of just 20 tonnes.

While the bridge was being constructed, a temporary bridge with traffic light controls provided access across the River Neb.

Access to the bridge was through Peel marina boatyard.