The latest bridge being constructed over the River Clyde is at least six months behind schedule.

The latest bridge being constructed over the River Clyde is at least six months behind schedule.

And £4.7million in European funding for the project is in danger of being lost as a result.

Work on the pedestrian crossing spanning the river at Glasgow city centre has largely been on hold since September as a result of the failure of the new quay walls at Tradeston to withstand the pressure of the water.

The full impact of the problems on the timescale and final cost of the £33m project, dubbed the Squiggly Bridge because of its double-curved shape, are the subject of "heated and intense" negotiations between Glasgow City Council and contractors Graham Construction.

Both sides are understood to be holding each other liable.

When Graham Construction was awarded the £13m contract for the new quay walls and public realm works there was protraction due to a shortage of sheet piling to shore up the river.

It is understood the piling is the source of the problem, with the location of the bridge at an old outflow for surface drainage.

The impact of the water flowing into the Clyde has led to a deepening of the riverbed and there have been suggestions the sheet piling may not have been deep enough for the job.

But the delay is certain to have an impact upon some, if not all, of the £4.7m in European Regional Development Funding promised, which is released if the bridge's construction falls within a prescribed timescale.

Edmund Nuttall, the contractor that will carry out the construction work, was due to begin last month but are developing the scheme off-site, with the council claiming some of the lost time can be regained.

The hold-up is the latest in a string of problems dogging the project.

The original proposal was aborted in early 2006 because of spiralling costs and was only back on the agenda on the basis a new scheme would cost half that of its predecessor.

George Roberts, the SNP group's spokesman on transport on the city council, said: "We will ask who will bear the costs of this and any possible loss of EU funding."

A council spokesman said: "Work on the bridge has been under way off-site since February.

"In consultation with the construction team, we have been able to reorder the programme of work to ensure a delay in the wider project does not hinder progress on the bridge."

Graham Construction would not comment.