Teething troubles continue to plague Poole’s Twin Sails Bridge which has suffered two different problems in the past three days.
On Saturday a “minor issue” caused the £21.6million bridge to be closed to traffic for a short time in the morning and yesterday a further problem arose which resulted in a lifting barrier having to be replaced.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb had to be taken across Poole Bridge after the Twin Sails was closed to traffic yesterday morning.
The minister had visited Hamworthy First School and was on his way to Canford Heath Middle when his car had to do a swift about turn to be driven across the old bridge.
It is not known what caused the problem with one of the barriers on the Poole side of the bridge.
John Rice, engineering and maintenance manager for Borough of Poole, said: “One of the traffic barriers on the Twin Sails Bridge has been replaced in order to maintain the safe flow of traffic on the road.
“We are investigating the exact nature of the issue to determine whether any further works may be required.”
He described Saturday’s problem as a “minor issue”, which resulted in the delay of some of the mid-morning bridge lifts.
He added: “We are however working closely with the contractor to address these issues as soon as possible.
“Any works will have a minimal impact on road users as the two bridge system is now in operation and there will also be minimal disruption to marine traffic.”
He added: “Any complex engineering project will have teething problems when it first comes into operation and the Twin Sails Bridge is no exception.”
The second harbour crossing across the Back Water Channel was finally opened to road traffic on April 4, having suffered delays from its expected completion in January. Work had to be carried out to resurface the lifting leaves after the surface crumbled.
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