GEM Bridge, the landmark centrepiece of Drake's Trail, has won a prestigious national award.

The bridge, which was designed by Devon County Council and constructed by contractor Dawnus, has been named civil engineering project of the year (under £3-million) at the British Construction Industry Awards.

The £2.1-million crossing of the Walkham Valley completed a missing link of the off-road trail between Tavistock and Plymouth when it opened to the pubic in May 2012.

Gem Bridge stands in the valley where Brunel's original Walkham Viaduct was built in 1859 as part of the Plymouth to Tavistock to Launceston railway. The viaduct, which at 300 metres long was Brunel's longest Devon viaduct, was demolished in the 1960s. The 200-metre long bridge is 24 metres high, or the equivalent height of five double-decker buses stacked on top of each other.

Drake's Trail also forms part of CYCLE WEST's cross-channel Velodyssey route covering 870 miles (1,400km), from Ilfracombe in North Devon through Brittany to the border with Spain.

The pedestrian and cycle bridge is the largest piece of infrastructure to be developed as part of the CYCLE WEST project. It was funded by Devon County Council's Investing in Devon programme and £600,000 of European funding from the INTERREG IVA programme to establish better cycling tourism links between the South West of England and France.

The judges at the British Construction Industry Awards said: 'The coherent and mutually supportive team rose to the challenges, working together to find the best and safest construction techniques and modifying the design accordingly.'

Cllr Philip Sanders, County Councillor for Yelverton Rural, said: 'I am delighted that this project has been recognised by this award. It is a tribute to all of those involved.

'It was a major challenge to design something which was functional but respected the natural beauty of the area and the bridge fits perfectly into the environment whilst providing a practical facility which is extensively used by the public.'