EXPERTS on a high-rise platform have carried out a detailed inspection of the damaged Clyde Arc Bridge.

Consultants Sandberg were on site yesterday afternoon looking at the sections of a support that crashed on the road.

Equipment had been brought in to allow engineers a closer look at where the cable, known as a hanger, snapped off from the bridge on Monday night.

Local people told how they heard an "explosion" as the cable snapped and fell on the carriageway.

Hanger 10 was one of 14 securing the Arc to the carriageway.

The bridge, which is dubbed the Squinty Bridge because it crosses the river diagonally, is designed so supports can be removed one at a time for repair and maintenance.

However, council bosses decided to close the bridge for safety reasons until a full investigation was completed.

Contractors Edmund Nutall Ltd appointed consultants Sandberg, who are expected to remove the broken sections to a specialist lab for further analysis.

London-based Sandberg investigate projects hit by structural problems and will prepare a report for the bridge builders.

The 33-metre (108ft) cable weighs around 3.6tonnes.

Other cables vary between 11metres (36ft) and 35m (114ft).

The bridge is made up of 1500 tonnes of steel and 2000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete, with a span of 169m (554ft). It is 22m (72ft) wide.

It links Finnieston to Pacific Quay on the South Side and was opened in September 2006 as part of a project to regenerate the banks of the Clyde.

It was the first new city road bridge over the River Clyde since 1969.