Transporter to remain closed for a YEAR after initially closing for 40-day revamp

Bridge is likely to remain closed until July as part of £2.6m lottery-funded refurbishment and upgrade work

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Gallery: Transporter Bridge being readied for painting

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The Transporter Bridge looks likely to be closed for a year for repainting and renovation - despite work initially being planned for completion in just 40 days.

Work on Middlesbrough's best-loved landmark has been delayed - again - because work is taking longer than expected.

The Transporter was initially closed in August for an expected 40 days of for renovation and painting.

The Gazette reported in November that the bridge was to remain closed until the spring as work continued.

And it has now emerged that it is not expected to reopen until July - almost a year after it first closed.

The revamp is all part of a scheme stemming from 2011, when the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) confirmed a £2.6m grant for refurbishment and upgrade work to the Transporter Bridge, which celebrated its 100th birthday.

The Transporter Bridge Visitor Centre is also closed until further notice to allow overhead renovation works to take place.

A free replacement bus service continues to run between Middlesbrough and Port Clarence.

The Grade-II listed Transporter Bridge has been a symbol of Teesside since it was opened in 1911.

It is 851 feet (259.3 metres) in length, which makes it the longest of those remaining transporter bridges in the world.