FIGURES revealed by Borough of Poole show the £21.6million Twin Sails Bridge is still causing delays to drivers and boat owner.

The revelation comes as the authority celebrates news that the bridge has been nominated for a major award.

And yesterday the council revealed the bridge would be shut overnight on Tuesday to allow work to be done to the high voltage electricity supply which powers the bridge’s lifting system.

Seven bridge lifts were delayed in June, rising to 10 in July. This compares with 15 closures over six weeks from April 9 to May 22.

Borough of Poole engineering manager John Rice said: “Although the number of delayed lifts increased slightly in July, we are confident that the main issue has now been rectified.

“We have seen significantly improved performance and reduction in delayed lifts during early August as the control system fault has been repaired.

“The 10 delayed lifts in July still represents a very small percentage of the overall number of lifts and we are pleased with the way work is progressing to identify and resolve issues that arise with the Twin Sails Bridge .”

From problems causing holdups on one day in three in the spring, as revealed by a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Daily Echo, the frequency in problems has reduced.

One source of problems, concerning the drop-down road barriers, resulted in new valves being fitted.

Of the seven delays in June, one was due to a road accident and the others were caused by control problems.

The 10 bridge lift delays in July also related to the control issue, which the council says has now been identified and resolved.

Since July 27 there have been two delays, one of which was due to a mains power failure.

While motorists have the option of using Poole Bridge to get between Hamworthy and the town centre, the problems have proved too frustrating for boat owners such as Roger Squires, who has moved his motorcruiser from Cobbs Quay to the Hamble.

He said: “We are suffering more than the road traffic. When the bridge fails to open we are told to ‘hold station’ until the problem is solved. This can mean burning up many litres of expensive fuel trying to keep our boats clear of others in limited space with no adequate temporary berthing available and in varying wind and tide conditions.”

Yesterday The Institution of Structural Engineers announced that the bridge had been shortlisted as a nominee for the 2012 structural awards, due to be announced in November.