AS engineers pull down Balkerne Hill bridge to make way for an upgrade, we take a look through our archives at the structure's near 40-year history.

Balkerne Hill dual carriageway was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Colonel Sir John Ruggles-Brise, on April 18 1977 - and with it came the footbridge to St Mary's.

When it was installed, Sir Bob Russell said it was the longest single span pedestrian bridge in Britain. 

The bridge is next to the Scheduled Ancient Monument, Balkerne Gate, the most important surviving Roman gateway in the country.

Now a familiar sight to motorists and pedestrians making their way up Balkerne Hill, 20 military badges are displayed on the wall below the bridge.

These plaques started appearing in 1999 when Colchester cabbie, Douglas Morgan, suggested to the Gazette that the Army regiment emblems should be put in pride of place. 

After many months of hard work, the first of the £200 badges was unveiled on September 27, 1999, and more filled spaces until September 2000 when the Millenium Military Badge project, as it was called, was finally completed.

The following year, disaster struck when a rotted tree root was blamed for causing part of the Victorian wall bordering Balkerne Hill to crumble. 

During repairs, fragments of pottery were found behind the brickwork.

It was not the first time since the dual carriageway was opened that emergency works had to be carried out - in the early 1990s, the wall on St Mary's side partially collapsed, closing the lane completely to traffic.

And the idea of replacing the footbridge is not new either.

The Gazette reported in October 2001 that Colchester Council was considering replacing the footbridge with a bigger one 'to serve the new development at St Mary's'. 

So as the bridge is finally removed, we mark an end of an era with one of its more sentimental moments in the headlines...

Maldon and Burnham Standard: