“WE anticipate Poole Bridge being reopened for public use in June 2017, and would like to thank everyone for their patience in the meantime while these major improvements are carried out.”

Those were the words of Poole council’s transport boss Julian McLaughlin when work on the town’s lifting bridge began.

As it turned out, the public would need to be patient for at least seven months longer than planned.

The work on Poole Bridge was due to cost £4.7million, part of a £23m package by Dorset Local Partnership to encourage growth.

The work included demolishing and replacing the approach spans, abutments and footpaths.

“Doing nothing would eventually lead to the bridge being permanently closed to traffic, so it’s excellent that we have secured the funds to enable these essential works to take place,” Mr McLaughlin said.

The bridge was closed in September 2016. In February this year, Borough of Poole said the work was on budget but being hampered by tough conditions.

Uncharted utility cables, including underground power lines, had been discovered, as had unmapped remnants of bridges that pre-dated the 1927 lifting bridge. A section of buried quay wall had also been found.

By August this year, the project was on its third postponement, with reopening expected in October.

Transport councillor Ian Potter said then: “It is good to see the work is moving forward at a pace.”

Meanwhile, the contractor Interserve was itself in the news. It warned in October that it was in danger of breaching its covenants with lenders after a difficult year.

The support services and construction company said it expected profits in the second half of the year to be half what they were a year ago.

The company launched a turnaround project, Fit For Growth, to improve its profit margins. This month, it announced it had secured £180m in short-term funding, as well as acquiring a new director of transformation, IT and people, following the departure of its head of support services.

On December 14, Borough of Poole was forced to announce for the sixth time a delay to the bridge’s reopening. Finishing touches had been held up because of delays delivering the totems which would house traffic lights and barriers, it revealed.

Interserve had fallen behind in installing vehicle and pedestrian gates.

Julian McLaughlin called the delays “extremely disappointing given the prior assurances given by the contractor that the bridge would reopen on December 15”.

The council assured people then that every effort was being made to have the bridge open before Christmas.

As it turned out, even that was too optimistic.