ONE of the ugliest landmarks in Newport is finally to be demolished. The much-loathed Kingsway Footbridge has been a blight on Newport town centre for years, but now work could start as soon as the spring to demolish the eyesore.

Built in 1973, the bridge has spent the last two decades greeting shoppers to Newport with its unique attractions: puddles, a howling wind through vandalised panes of glass, and the unique smell that only seems to be found in the stairwells of multi-storey car parks and men's toilets.

Councillor Graham Dally hailed its demise three years ago in the Argus as part of a redevelopment project that later fell through. He is happy the end is finally in sight. "We will all be glad to see it down," he said.

"It doesn't give an appealing entrance to the town. It's been a blight to everyone that's walked across it. I gather that sometimes it is used as a public toilet."

The bridge will be replaced by a ground level pelican crossing on Usk Way, close to Newport Centre, as part of the dualing of that stretch of road. A ground level crossing already exists further up the riverbank in readiness for the millennium arts centre and theatre development.

A spokeswoman for Newport council said: "The work to remove the bridge will be complex because it spans both the bus station and Kingsway and is expected to take place later this spring.

"Large cranes will be used to lift one span at a time down to ground level, and the concrete spans will then be removed from the site and broken up," she said.

The council say that disruption to traffic and pedestrians during the demolition will be kept to a minimum by restricting work to night time at weekends.

The council are seeking tenders for the work at present and development chief councillor John Jenkins is due to reach a decision on February 12.

The demolition will receive funding from the WDA, but the exact cost is being kept under wraps while the tendering goes on.