A picturesque statue has been catching the eye of motorists and pedestrians crossing over Swansea’s River Tawe bridges.
Clearance and landscaping work by the southern bridge closest to Sainsbury’s means a sculpture in place since the late 1980s is now more visible.
The statue is called the Flying Figurehead and can be seen on the left-hand side by people passing over the bridge on their way towards the city centre.
It was completed in 1989 and comprises leaning male and female figures on a circular stone base. The male has his left arm outstretched and is looking down at the female figure while the lower part of their bodies merge to form a cloak effect.
The statue measures just under three and a half metres in length. Sculptor David Backhouse is behind the work.
The clearance and landscaping is part of an improvement scheme at the river bridges to help accommodate the projected growth in traffic volumes by 2020.
A new traffic system has now gone live that’s seen a clockwise movement of traffic introduced around the bridges with a two-way flow maintained on the southern bridge.
The improvement works form part of the boulevard scheme between the river bridges and the LC that will improve the look of a key city centre gateway and create better links between the city centre and the waterfront.
Cllr John Hague, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The river bridges are carrying much more traffic than they were designed to and this improvement scheme will help cater for more vehicles on the roads over the next decade.
“But it’s not just about helping traffic flow. Landscaping is taking place to enhance the environment around the bridges and pedestrian crossings are being improved.
“This sculpture will stay in place but will be moved slightly further back to accommodate the revised location of a toucan crossing and give pedestrians more room on the footway.
“The new traffic layout at the bridges is working well as motorists get used to the changes. These works are key to the boulevard scheme that will improve the look of a major route in and out of our city centre.”
Narrow lanes are in place at the river bridges to minimise disruption and work will be finished by early December.
The boulevard scheme is one of a number of projects being funded by the Welsh Government, the Wales European Funding Office and Swansea Council to improve the Swansea city centre experience for residents, businesses and visitors to the city.
Go to http://www.swanseacitycentre.com/tawebridges for further information.
