The proposed Bridge of Reeds, intended to be built near Cambridge
This is the Bridge of Reeds - and it's rather more exciting than the average footbridge.
The design for the 175ft high bridge was today officially announced as the winner of a competition to find a new landmark for the east of England, beating more than 230 other entries by architects from around the world.
If funding of up to £8m can be secured, it is hoped the Bridge of Reeds could be built within three years. It will cross the A14 – the area's busiest trunk road - outside Cambridge.
The idea is that the bridge would connect the city and the surrounding countryside for the benefit of walkers and cyclists. It would take them close to Wicken Fen, where the National Trust owns around 1,200 acres of land and eventually hopes to own 10,000. Anglesey Abbey, which already attracts almost 160,000 visitors a year, is also close to the bridge site.
Bridge project leader Philip Broadbent-Yale told me Cambridge had the worst level of access to surrounding countryside of any city in the UK. "A lot of the countryside is used for agriculture," he explained.
The Bridge of Reeds would involve three main supports and would be studded, porcupine-like, with steel rods intended to resemble reeds. Some of the rods on the embankment would be designed to move a little in the breeze, adding to the resemblance.
It would be more than double the height of Anthony Gormley's 65ft Angel of the North, which was created in 1998 and arguably created the phenomenon of "landmark envy" among regional planners.
In January, Manchester got in on the act with the unveiling of B of the Bang, a sculpture made up of steel spikes. And planned new landmarks in other areas include a "goddess of the north" statue of a woman, made from mining soil and intended to be built 10 miles north of Newcastle.
Mr Broadbent-Yale said the Angel of the North was among the inspirations for the landmark project, but added: "I think it's important to note that the Bridge of Reeds is also something that people can use, like the Millennium Bridge in Gateshead.
"The design is also in keeping and inspired by the locality. Reeds are common in the rural areas of the East of England."
The planned bridge would be near an existing park and ride scheme, and would take around half an hour to reach from the city centre on foot.
The project team have been holding talks with the Highways Agency, and Mr Broadbent-Yale said there were no great anxieties that the structure would distract drivers.
