Rome could soon have two new pedestrian bridges over the river Tiber if work on the long-awaited Ponte della Musica and Ponte della Scienza goes ahead as planned.

Groundbreaking is due to take place on 14 October at 15.00, over seven years after the winners of the international design competition for the two bridges were announced.

Designed by London-based firm Buro Happold in collaboration with Powell-Williams Architects, Ponte della Musica in north Rome will span the Tiber at the point between the Lungotevere Maresciallo Cadorna to the west and the Lungotevere Flaminio to the east, linking the sports area at Foro Italico with the Flaminio area containing the Auditorium music complex and museum of contemporary art and architecture (under construction) on the opposite bank. The bridge, consisting of two leaning steel arches supporting a steel deck covered by ecological asphalt and chestnut slats, will cost over