The world's first ‘squashed tennis racket style’ railway bridge will be used as part of the £85m Ordsall Chord development.

The bridge, which will link Piccadilly and Victoria stations, will be built as the UK’s first ‘network arch’ - a low curve with a ‘tennis racket’ style lattice.

But this one will be asymmetric - a design never seen before in the world.

The bridge will be built by steel firm Severfield in Bolton and then lifted by crane over the River Irwell.

And its mastermind Peter Jenkins believes George Stephenson - who in 1830 built the world’s first inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway - would approve.

Not only will it improve life for passengers, he said, but it will also boost the regeneration of Salford.

On a tour of the scheme’s work site off Water Street, Peter, architect director at BDP, told the M.E.N: “I’d like to think that George Stephenson would have approached the challenge in a similar manner, laying the new railway infrastructure over the old.

“This was the first railway between two cities - now this is the first asymmetric network arch bridge.”

There has been controversy over the scheme as it runs through a heritage area which marks the birth of modern railway.

(Image: Matt Ratcliffe)

But Peter says the project will actually shine a spotlight on the Grade I listed Stephenson Bridge - which is ‘more important than the Houses of Parliament or Big Ben’.

The architect, who also designed Victoria and is working on Oxford Road and Piccadilly, added: “I understand why people get excited about the history in this area - so do I.

“But I think we are doing the right thing in our approach. There’s been a lot of work done in terms of our design and research of the area.

“We are taking a fantastic grade I listed building and fully restoring and repairing it and having a fantastic lighting scheme so it will be celebrated for the first time in 100 years - we’re doing the right thing.”

Train buff Pete Waterman was also on the tour.

(Image: Matt Ratcliffe)

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He said: “I think George Stephenson would have built this 10 years ago. I am always amazed at historians who don’t see history as the context it was in.

“Stephenson was about shortening journeys, changing lives. We’ve got to think of the next generation - we have to protect our history but not let it stop progress because that’s not fair to the next generation who are going to live here and get jobs. Just look at how Salford is changing.”

Chris Montgomery, programme director for Network Rail North of England said: “It’s fantastic to see something that’s been on the drawing board coming out with construction on the ground.

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“It’s so important, a project which will link Victoria and Piccadilly for the first time and a scheme which is intrinscially linked into the whole northern programmes that will bring faster, and more frequent trains between all the major cities in the north, between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds and will create jobs and growth.

“I think we as an organisation have consulted with all the right bodies, put together a case and picked the better route. We’ve done as much as we can.

“The order was successful and all we can do is build to it.”

(Image: Matt Ratcliffe)

The Network Rail project is running a year late after engineer Mark Whitby launched an unsuccessful judicial review over damage to heritage.

Mr Whitby was refused the right to appeal by a High Court judge - but he is now applying to appeal that decision in the hope that he can then launch a fresh appeal over the Secretary of State’s decision to give it the green light.

The completion date is December 2017 when passengers should be able to use the new route.