2-879-145 - Historic England Archive/Heritage Images

New Kent Road, Newington, Southwark, London, 12/06/1973. A 60-tonne Gargantua crane lowering the central section of deck into place during the construction of a footbridge over New Kent Road, Southwark. The police closed the road from 8pm on the 12th of June 1973 until 5.30am on the 13th to allow Laing's Southern Region division to build the footbridge. It linked the Heygate Estate of Jespersen flats to the north side of the road. The central box section concrete beam was 14m long and weighed 30 tonnes, the largest single unit produced by the John Laing Concrete factory in Andover at the time. This photograph was used in the July 1973 issue of Team Spirit, the Laing company newsletter.