THE Bridge to Nowhere is finally to become the Bridge to Somewhere.

The project, in the heart of Glasgow, today won a share of £50million - the biggest UK Lottery grant ever awarded by public vote.

Around £1m will go towards completing the Glasgow bridge, which now stops in mid-air near the Marriott Hotel. It was one of a number of schemes put forward by sustainable transport charity Sustrans under the name Connect2 in a bid for £50m of People's Millions money.

Residents across Britain were asked to vote for their favourite from a list which included the Eden Project in Cornwall.

But today it was revealed Connect2 and the Bridge to Nowhere scooped 42% of the 286,285 votes cast.

The bridge was originally part of a 1960s scheme, as the main pedestrian route across the motorway to the Anderston shopping centre. However, plans for the centre were shelved, and the half-completed bridge was left in mid-air.

A spokesman for Sustrans, whose flagship project is the National Cycle Network, described the announcement as "fantastic news". He added: "Now we begin the process of working with the Big Lottery Fund to establish the timetable for funding."

Pupils from St Patrick's Primary in Anderston backed the project by writing letters of support to the city council.

Head teacher Susan O'Donnell said of the huge cash windfall: "The children will be absolutely delighted that their persuasive letters have worked."

And executive land services director Robert Booth said: "We can now get on with the job of connecting our communities by completing this bridge - 40 years since work began."