THE woman in charge of constructing the new footbridge over the River Usk in Newport says lifting it is a delicate process which is due to take a week.

Janet Sorley is leading a team of 30 men in the coming weeks as the £5 million Usk footbridge is lifted into place.

The 35-year-old civil engineer from contractors firm Alfred McAlpine is project- managing the construction of the Usk footbridge.

This project is to use the UK's biggest crane - due to arrive in Newport next week on the backs of 48 lorries.

The giant crane will take a week to build. After that Janet's team will use it to lift the 850-tonne bridge structure into place.

Work on the bridge is due to be finished by the end of June.

The only potential stumbling-block is the Welsh weather - with a 107-metre- long boom, the crane would be unsafe to use in strong winds.

Ms Sorley, who has been in engineering since she graduated from Liverpool University 15 years ago, said: "Because of the scale of the crane and the structure, the project is very weather dependent. It's the only thing that's going to hold us up."

The finished project will be just 1m shorter than Newport's Transporter Bridge and the construction is expected to draw a crowd of onlookers. Ms Sorley said: "People will see a very rapid change - more than with a normal structure. It's been designed so most of the work is done off site and the bridge is then lifted into place.

"It was done that way because it is a constricted site in an environmentally sensitive area."

During the lifting, scheduled for Monday if the weather is good, Usk Way will be closed from the Newport Centre roundabout to the Granville Street roundabout. A diversion will run via Kingsway, Commercial Road, George Street and Lower Dock Street. Emlyn Street will have residents-only access.

Ms Sorley is excited to see the construction phase of the project begin after months of preparation.

She said: "This bridge is very unusual. There's nothing like it in this country.

"It's exciting for that reason, but also because it's the first piece of Newport's regeneration."

It is also a change for her, after recent projects including an effluent plant, motorways in the north west of England and sea defence works in North Wales. This is her first bridge project.

Ms Sorley, originally from North Wales and now based in Portishead, is not daunted by leading an all-male team at the site.

She said: "It's always like that working in the construction industry. I don't get any adverse remarks - they're brilliant."