Fibre broadband cable laid under M5 Avonmouth Bridge

One of the most challenging jobs in BT's fibre optic broadband rollout has been completed by a Bristol engineer.

BT Openreach employee Steve Jones worked a week of eight-hour days in a cramped, noisy tunnel below the carriageway of Avonmouth Bridge.

His efforts involved the installation of fibre optic cables underneath the structure, which is part of the busy M5 motorway. If the wires had been laid over rather than beneath the crossing, traffic on the eight-lane road would have been severely disrupted.

Commenting on the work, Mr Jones said conditions in the tunnel were hot and stuffy, with no natural light and just enough room to stand up in some parts.

"Getting across the river was a major obstacle but the alternative of going around it was an even bigger one," he remarked.

BT is aiming to bring super-fast broadband to two-thirds of properties in the UK by 2015 at a cost of up to £2.5 billion.