WORK has begun to install the remaining 102 glass panels surrounding Blackburn’s new £4.7million bus station.

Bosses at the borough council and contractors Eric Wright Construction have hailed the start of completing the project’s glazed shell as an important milestone.

When the previous building firm Thomas Barnes was dramatically sacked in June from the much-delayed project, just 32 of the 134 panels had been installed.

The Lancashire Telegraph reported how Barnes and the council were understood to be in dispute over whether the novel steel structure supporting the fibre-glass roof and the plate glass side panels was sufficient to support the structure in all conditions.

This week, Eric Wright began fitting the remaining specially-made five-metre by 1.5-metre panes of reinforced glass on the external walls along with associated roof works.

The remainder should be fitted in five weeks, with completion of the whole station expected in the New Year.

Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Phil Riley said: “The glass shell is a key element of the unusual and iconic bus station design.

“The installation of glazing is a sign that things are really starting to take shape on the bus station development .”