Work on the delayed £9m project to overhaul the Woodside Ferry Terminal reaches major milestone with the facility expected to reopen in later 2026. Tony McDonough reports

A new landing stage and linkspan bridge have been installed at Woodside Ferry Terminal in Birkenhead.

Onlookers watched this week as the Lara 1 floating crane was used to install the new 120-tonne bridge. The 52-metre long, 350-tonne landing stage was floated across the river and connected to the new supporting piles.

An expert team on both sides of the river co-ordinated the complex two-day process, ensuring it ran safely and smoothly across the busy shipping lanes. The challenging procedure was captured in drone and time-lapse footage.

Now the landing stage and pontoon are in place, the final fit out will be completed which includes a modern waiting room for Mersey Ferry passengers.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority oversaw the reopening of the Seacombe Ferry Terminal, just along the Wirral waterfront, in late 2022 following a £7m transformation that saw its 130-year-old linkspan bridges replaced in a major piece of engineering work.

Woodside closed shortly afterwards and, in February 2024, LBN reported work on Woodside would begin that spring. However, the start was further delayed until work finally got under way in October 2024.

It was still hoped the terminal would be completed for summer 2026 but earlier this year it was revealed that further delays would see that pushed back to autumn 2026. It means it will not be open in time for the launch of the new £26m Mersey Ferry, Royal Daffodil.

This work has seen the removal of the old landing stage and linkspan bridge after almost 40 years of service. The 110-tonne linkspan bridge and 45-tonne connecting boom were taken out over two days.

Cllr Steve Foulkes, chair of the Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “Alongside the new Mersey Ferry, these works at Woodside highlight our commitment to the future of ferries as a much-beloved cultural asset for our city region.

READ MORE: New £26m Mersey Ferry on the river for the first time

“We’re really pleased to be playing our part alongside Wirral Council in the transformative regeneration in this area that will be taking place over the next few years.”

Working together with Wirral Council and Big Heritage CIC, it is planned that the return of Mersey Ferry services to Woodside will tie in with the completion of the public realm works at Woodside and the new Battle of the Atlantic Museum.