Comments on: Debate Over Closure Of Swing Bridge Continues

By: Raymond Ray

Raymond Ray — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 02:17:56 +0000

I agree with you Imao…when the other bridge was to be closed for a short time but yet after many, many years it’s worse than it has ever been! yet you Mr. Correia aren’t ranting and raving about that bridge nor had you in the countless years that it has been inadequately useful to mariners i.e. any boat higher than a few feet,(since headroom is limited.) Chart a different course mate that’s all you and the others need to do for this season and possibly be able to sail Southshore into and around Castle Harbour and back then charge more per trip…

By: Young PLP Fan

Young PLP Fan — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 15:31:15 +0000

Ugggghhhhh Derek! You should have held back on you comments man. I am a fan but pls dont misrepresent me. You know full well the bridge has to be closed in order to be fixed. What happens after that regarding it opening back up is the issue not the repairs!! You kno why the bridge hasnt been fixed yet! EVERYTHING COSTS MONEY THAT WE (Bda) Dont Have!

By: Everett Outerbridge

Everett Outerbridge — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 13:47:16 +0000

I wonder what the life expectancy of the current, temporary Bailey Bridge. Has it been recently inspected? Is it still safe?

By: Citizen Banned

Citizen Banned — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 13:05:03 +0000

I hate to have to say it but Bda Boy is right. The bridge was enormously expensive to operate, and used by a minute amount of people – especially when there is another way around. It is an expense we simply can no longer afford – sorry about Jerry and all that but it is true.

By: Bermuda Boy

Bermuda Boy — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:54:15 +0000

You know it, I know it, Jerry knows it, Sloan knows it. The Swing Bridge will be part of our history.. Good riddance to it,

By: Citizen Banned

Citizen Banned — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:44:45 +0000

Make no mistake: Once this bridge is closed, it will NEVER EVER be opened again. This is Government’s intention – there will never ever be a swing bridge there again. In fact, we’ll no longer be able to call it the Swing Bridge – for the simple reason that it won’t swing anymore.

You know it, I know it, Jerry knows it, Sloan knows it. The Swing Bridge will be part of our history.

By: Still Blame the PLP

Still Blame the PLP — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 00:32:24 +0000

And what of all the money that was in your budget that you didn’t spend last year.. you could have done the work in the winter, but your premier was too busy travelling so the bridge and St. George got the short end of the stick.

By: HardTalk

HardTalk — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:58:53 +0000

Congratulations to Jerry Correia for sticking it out for so many years in St. Georges and offering a sailboat/snorkel trip to the visitors. As he quite rightly says, he was there at the very beginning, even before the Norwegian Majesty became a weekly visitor, and sadly he will probably be the ‘last man standing’. The closure of Swing Bridge for the summer season will probably be the final nail in the coffin for his business.

St. Georges used to be a vibrant tourist destination with one cruise ship on a Monday, two on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and one on a Friday morning. In addition there was an occasional weekend caller. Tour operators, including Jerry Correia, used to have access to a variety of beautiful tour loops by using the Swing Bridge to do a circular tour of St Georges harbor, Fort St. Catherine, Whalebone Bay, Grotto Bay and Ferry Reach. Best of all the tours could be modified, clock wise anticlockwise to accommodate weather conditions.
In addition, when Longbird Bridge used to operate on a regular schedule one of the most beautiful tour loops in Bermuda was the St Georges, St Davids Head, NASA, Castle Island, Tuckers Town (Billionaires Row), Grotto Bay, Ferry Reach, and back to St Georges loop. Again the direction could be changed to accommodate prevailing weather conditions

The tourists that did those tours probably still talk about them today, because they were so spectacular. Sadly, the bridges no longer work, the cruise ships don’t come any more and most of the tour operators packed up and left a good few years ago. I wonder what percentage of visitors coming this year will see the inside of Castle Harbour or the spectacular reefs from St. Davids Head to Castle Island – not many!

Jerry Correia has dedicated 20+ years to running his sail and snorkel tours from St. Georges and along the way he has made a lot of friends and created many happy memories for visitors to our island and it is sad to see him being put out of business like this. Is it really so difficult to keep the only ‘opening bridge’ in Bermuda in working condition for a 4 month tourist season?

Well let’s look on the bright side, we probably don’t need to charter a high speed ferry anymore to run tourists from Dockyard to St. Georges, let’s just declare the Town ‘closed for repairs until further notice’ and ship them off to Snorkel Beach in Dockyard with the rest of the masses! Now that’s what I call an ‘Authentic Bermuda Experience!’

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:55:05 +0000

The bridges should have enough air draft for the ferrys to pass under & be fixed. If opening they should be a simple single span drawbridge design.

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:50:36 +0000

Yup, had a big party for the opening of it too. You would have thought that they had really accomplished something. Much adoo about nothing as usual.

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:48:13 +0000

Glad that you understood that comment. I read it over a few times & made no sense of it at all.

By: Bermuda boy

Bermuda boy — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:14:08 +0000

In the end, they shouldn’t have to raise or swing any bridge. Use the watford model, Jerry Correia has to go agound until this piece of junk is fixed.

By: PPamplin

PPamplin — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:00:29 +0000

While I fully appreciate the responsibility of governing, and for making difficult decisions, it is still difficult to understand the temerity of the PLP former Minister who can criticize that the OBA were not on top of the bridge repairs.

File records show that the bridge’s last full service was at least ten (10) years ago.

By: RawOnion

RawOnion — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 20:03:37 +0000

The current Govt did address Long Bird Bridge, there is no money to replace it. The plan now is to along with finding an operator to rebuild the new airport (which will likely not happen), to also build a new bridge.

By: Citizen Banned

Citizen Banned — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:42:35 +0000

Mr Cranbayfield is correct. The bridges at the airport were put there to have a life of four years. Seven so far. When one collapses under the weight of a huge oversized truck full of aggregate, something will be done, but only after we have one way traffic for another couple years.

By: Cranberry

Cranberry — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:10:18 +0000

Remeber the ‘temporary’ bridge at the airport end of the Causeway…. Mr Wart Brahn installed just before StG Cup Match several years ago – I see it’s still temporary…!!

By: Need to know basis

Need to know basis — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:41:32 +0000

Because if the seas are rough it is very dangerous to go the long way around. Know something before you make ignorant comments.

By: nuffin but the truth

nuffin but the truth — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:59:22 +0000

the blame lays solely on the defunct plp and their friends n family plan.

Thankfully it’s GAME OVER for them.

By: blue bird

blue bird — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 14:45:13 +0000

GET RIDE OF W & E then you might see something getting done.
All this work should be “CONTRACTED” out to Private companies that
(1) create employment
(2) pay TAXES to a smaller Government.
(3) And get the work done.
The PLP/BIU gave us a HUGE DEBT of $2.324Billion dollars and did nothing.
If you voted for the PLP/BIU you get what you voted for so “SUCK IT UP”

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:45:38 +0000

More green chickens coming home to roost. Years of neglect. Years of little or no usage. Years of promises of bridge replacement (Longbird/Causeway). Years of nothing to show in the area besides “Pop Bye” flags.

Voters of Bermuda, you got what you voted for. You got what you deserved.

Much is expected of the OBA but they cannot snap their fingers & make things happen, not with maintenance on a PLP debt costing over $200,000.00 per day. What part of broke do people not understand?

True, the refurbishment of the Swing Bridge is going to cost more by delaying it but if the money is not there, the money is not there.

Ideally work should have started on the bridge last September, at the end of the season however W&E have demonstrated in the past that they have little consideration for the users of bridges when it come to such things as the timing of maintenance. They pulled the same thing the last time Somerset Bridge was rebuilt. Work did not START till March closing the bridge to boats for the whole season as work dragged slowly on.

By: not TT

not TT — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:09:03 +0000

How ABOUT the Bailey bridge, temporarily permanent. Is the government going to fix that? It’s been to long and neither governments of the day have addressesed this problem to find a permenant solution.

By: lmao

lmao — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:08:12 +0000

Bra you don’t miss out on anything, just take the long way around and charge a little bit more, still get to go to ya destinations. smh

By: Smh

Smh — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 12:37:39 +0000

If the bridge is closed for such a long period as proposed, it will likely rust out beyond repair from lack of usage, so in the long term it would cost even more. Let’s not be so short sighted.

By: Dr. Mumbo Jumbo ,bs.,bbs.,asap ditto.

Dr. Mumbo Jumbo ,bs.,bbs.,asap ditto. — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 12:21:28 +0000

So many things …were not kept up during the tenure of the last govt.,the roads,ferries,bridges,….there was plenty for everything else but the things that were pre requisit and out standing….these things were left outstanding in the rain with no rain gear and just plane got dillapidated…..I grew up St. Georges …and never saw this bridge this bad….sorry…that is all…I’ve got to go!….I have to get back to earth before the stargate closes…the chieftans are locking…

By: Um Um Like

Um Um Like — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 12:09:47 +0000

If this bridge breaks down, what will the people of St. Georges do? We’ll need to build an Urgent Care Center in St. Georges.

By: Sooooo

Sooooo — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 11:55:26 +0000

“Had the government been on top of their game the repairs could have been done between October 2013 and now, and the bridge would have been ready for the summer season.”

Then Mr Burgess, how is it that the Bridge is in the state it is? Why was NO maintenance done during the previous governments tenure?