Swing Bridge In St George’s: Single Lane Traffic
The Ministry of Public Works said that in an “abundance of caution” they will be placing a weight restriction on Swing Bridge in St. Georges and enforcing single lane traffic effective Tuesday December 22nd.
A spokesperson said, “After a recent engineering survey by the Department of Works and Engineering, the Ministry of Public Works, in an abundance of caution, is planning to place a weight restriction on Swing Bridge in St. Georges and enforce single lane traffic.
“There will also be a 15 KPH speed restriction for motorists when crossing the bridge. The changes will come into effect on Tuesday December 22nd.
“Full details will be made available during a town hall meeting at Penno’s Wharf Cruise Ship Terminal on Monday at 6:30pm. Any interested members of the public are invited to attend.
“The Ministry would like to reassure the public that it will not prohibit public transport or private vehicles crossing the bridge during this time and that swing bridge traffic lights will be controlled manually during peak traffic hours [morning and evening commutes] to ensure residents are not inconvenienced by the changes.
“Letters went out today from the Ministry to owners of vehicles greater than 10 tonnes to advise them of the weight restriction which will be in place until such a time that essential maintenance works have been completed.
“The Ministry of Public Works will issue permits, where possible, for vehicles greater than 10 tonnes gross vehicle weight, specifying acceptable reduced load parameters under the permit.”
More evidence of years of neglect. How long has it been closed to marine traffic? At least 10 years.
Maybe we could buy the bridge at Crab Cay, Exumas. Beautiful bridge. Higher than Swing Bridge. Longer. Unused since being built.
It has only been closed for just over a year. It was known long time ago about it’s state.
No money in the kitty…roads neglected, bushes on the roadside neglected, now the bridge unusable. This Govt. is reactive and not proactive. Blame game all around! Get the money’s owed to you and do it with force. Instead you want to hit the tax payers that do pay their taxes on time and increase their land taxes. Utter BS!!!
That bridge did not suddenly deteriorate in the last 3 years. A steel bridge like that needs to be taken care of on an ongoing basis. It was not.
Now it is at a point most likely beyond worthwhile repair.
Another bridge that should be replaced with a concrete one able to stand up to the salt & high enough for the Ferrys to pass under.
Oh yeah…thats right….we have no money. It was blown away on things like the Grand Folly/Atlantic & cost overruns on just about everything bought in the past 10 years.
This Gov needs to aggressively go after monies owed. Be it from corruption, traffic, old taxes, missing money or whatever, go and get it and help put this infrastructure of this country back together. Now get off your duff and getter done.
That would be great Widget if they had the money and the Police were not being downsized et al.
Not easy when you have a bunch of ex-pats strongarming Cabinet.
When this bridge closed last year I said it would never open again. Now I will add that we will have traffic lights there temporarily forthe next the foreseeable future. Disgusting. Every effing day I will have to wait for traffic lights. Sucks big time. Disgusting.
Triangle D, it is the other bridge by the airport entrance that closed a decade ago. Since then we’ve had the Bailey bridge temporarily since they only have a life of 5 years.
and elsewhere in the world people have no running water ….
You are correct Tania. We complain about first world problems. However, as a fellow st Georgian, I’m sure you can understand the inconvenience factor every single day twice a day for what will probably be several years. Quite frankly it is disgusting and we deserve better.
I look forward to my retirement when, like you, I will only cross the bridge when I have to. See you over the holidays for a drink darn Wahoos!
After thought Goose.
Leave home 15 minutes earlier. No problem.
Nah hiff yah driwan ah Texhee val yah gattin payed hennvey…..
@Onion Goose. Have you ever noticed that the airport bridge had a hump when installed and now it have a rather large dip in it today. This bridge as well is a danger to the traveling public. Time to replace it, even if it’s another temporary bridge.
I have noticed this. I believe there will be a collapse one day when an over burdened semi goes over it. I hope I am not behind it on my scooter. Perhaps then someone will wake up to this danger.
As someone who travels over both of these bridges everyday and will undoubtedly be inconvenienced by traffic lights, my greater concern is the safety factor. While it’s fine and dandy to lighten the load and slow the speed, the fact remains that this is the only way in/out and there is still going to be a considerable amount of traffic each day, including public buses passing over every day. It looks to me that we may need bridge replacements more urgently than we need a new airport or do we have to wait until it collapses and lives are lost before the issue is properly addressed? I, for one, am not feeling very good about this news!
I’ll get back on that one.
Airport is free right?
Bridges cost money that have to be paid or come from consolidated et al funds.
Go figure.
Good point Goose.
This is what happens when you ‘drift’ too much.
It’s reassuring to know that Bermuda received millions from the U.S. after they left that should cover the replacement of that bridge and the other one.
Just went across this bridge about a half hour ago….. I am confused – why is it safe today and not on Tuesday?
Both governments have brushed the people and town of St. Georges to the side for long enough… makes me sick… you won’t even think this was once Bermuda capital… A key part in the settlement… get your crap together
You are incorrect. One of the first things the OBA did was give St George’s a few hundred thousand to make desperately needed repairs to infrastructure in the old town. After that they created a tax on gas that goes to St George’s to pay for upgrades to infrastructure, on an ongoing basis. The hotel is due to be started in a matter of months along with the golf course. These are all things that will directly affect the St George’s community in a big way economically. Add the new marina and the new airport and it will make the East End a vibrant and bustling place, something the likes of which the area has not seen before. The bridges have been due for replacement for years. In the 1999 the govt got millions from the U.S. which was to be used to replace the bridges. Instead the money was used elsewhere. All the talk about the plp spending on infrastructure, but they never prioritized the money for those bridges. The OBA are doing more for St George’s in the space of a few years, with hardly any access to funding, than the former govt. did in 14 years with access to a seemingly unending access to money for everything else but.
This will be very interesting indeed as the fuel trucks that traverse this bridge many times a day everyday have a tare weight (unloaded truck) of approx 10 tonnes. Gross weight is easily 20 tonnes plus. If it is suggested that they carry partial loads this will drastically increase costs to the fuel companies… I wonder who will foot the bill?
20,000# empty, 40,000# loaded. WOW! That sure sounds like a lot. Is that one of the articulated trucks?
No, I was referring to the green and white ones… the tractor trailer has a higher capacity tank and comes in at approx 25 tonnes.
Good point.
Time to start confiscating assets from those who mismanaged the public purse and put those funds to bridges! The auditor general has done her work, now let the recovery process begin!
I agree…I wonder if their houses up Trimingham hill/Fairylands will go on auction..
Show me where that few hundred thousand went on St Georges infrastructure.. we need millions down there fool… you can’t even get a decent house for 100 thousand… how are you fixing infrastructure with less that 1 million? Let’s talk economics.
Give me break. I suggest you pay more attention if you are going to voice an opinion. The initial money went directly to renovating the public restrooms in the square, which were in a deplorable state and new trucks for the corporation, as the old ones were on their last legs. The gas tax will give St George’s hundreds of thousands on a yearly basis going forward, which is hundreds of thousands more than it is as getting before the OBA took office. With the new hotel and marina, St George’s will be getting those millions spent down there. The “trickle down” will spur new businesses to open and established businesses to prosper. What do you suggest as a better alternative, when the cupboard was left bear and the former govt chose to neglect St George’s for years?
The numbers to date are that the OBA govt. has given $1.2 millions to St. George’s for both operational expenses and infrastructure renovations, including repairs to Penno’s Wharf, restrooms and new trucks.
Louis Fredrick…provide proof of your comment, becauae after looking at the books there is no records of your 1.2m gift from the OBA
@ Lois Frederick – please note that the former government paid a government grant of $288K per quarter which equates to $1.150m per year. To date it sounds like the current government has paid approximatley $1m for the past 18 months. Now look at the numbers PLP – $1.7m over 18 months and OBA $1m over 18 months. The numbers are the numbers! of course it is easier to believe that the PLP didnt do or paid less then the current government when the blinders and KOOL-AID distort your vision!
Any comment on the fuel levy? All the plp objected to it in the House. The raised revenue will provide for on going infrastructure improvements well into the future. The plp strangled St George’s financially and the evidence is for all to see. Care to dispute that? At least now the Corporation has got the wharf fees, fuel levy, marina and five star hotel and golf course, which will transform the East End from a ghost town to a vibrant and active community. The hotel development is something that was previously promised and never delivered. The rejuvenation of St George’s is going to happen not because of the former govt., it is happening because of hard work and commitment by the current OBA government. Isn’t that wonderful for Bermuda and in particular East End residents who will directly benefit in the coming years.
Can someone say exactly what has happened to make the bridge unsafe . Can someone outline the repair work and estimated time to complete. A little knowledge might help some of the concern for safety
Go to the town hall meeting and ask.
At a guess, metal deteriorates. If it gets to a certain point it cannot be repaired. I guess we are at the stage when it can no longer be repaired. Timeline to replace? Perhaps 9 months subject to red tape.
the plp had $10 million given them by the US Navy to take care of the bridges,but we know the plp didn’t spend it on the bridges
The UBP/OBA took the US NAVY for granted that they would always and forever take care of the Bermuda governments responsibility concerning those two vital links …. For multiple decades …… Free money !
What did they spend it on?
Yet another reason America’s cup should have been based in ST.George …
Longbird was never arched upward. It is fixed at one end, and has rollers at the other. Jetski roostertails soaked the south underpassage with salt on Swing Bridge. Clearly visible effect.
Causeway…and swing bridge…if’n you’all want somthin to last …y’all gotstah takes care offit..
How bout the other one at airport…it bounces so much …I feel like ol Skippy Jones at cirque de ole…also this eyesore has third world neglect sign you might see in Haiti or somewhere…may I point out…it doesn’t matter the airport if your bridge right next tuit is shight!