CIVIC leaders insist progress is being made on Poole’s troubled Twin Sails Bridge, despite yet another failure forcing its closure during Monday evening’s rush-hour.

The £21.6 million bridge, which has been dogged by technical difficulties since its grand opening in April 2012, closed to traffic for an hour-and-a-half earlier this week, forcing disgruntled drivers to seek alternative routes home.

Borough of Poole transportation spokesman Cllr Xena Dion said the bridge closed to traffic between 4.45-6.15pm, after its leaves “went out of synchronisation”.

“This was quickly rectified and we are investigating the cause of the problem,” said the councillor.

In the aftermath of what is just the latest in a long list of problems affecting the Twin Sails Bridge, heavy traffic was reported on many surrounding roads.

Cllr Dion insists: “Over the past few weeks we have seen real progress in resolving many of the operational issues. However, we still have not quite reached the level of reliability that we need and want.”

Last week, according to Borough of Poole, engineers installed equipment to capture data when faults occur, which can then be reviewed remotely by the specialist workers.

“This will be a big help to identify the cause of many of the issues that have occurred,” said Cllr Dion. “We are confident that progress is being made and thank residents for their patience while we resolve the remaining issues.”

Last month the council revealed the town’s second harbour crossing had just under 100 defects to rectify. These included leaks in supposedly water-tight doors, loose bolts, hydraulic problems, oil filter and motor issues and rust.