TROUBLED Poole Bridge has been closed to traffic since the weekend following technical faults with its pedestrian gates.

Residents and businesses told the Echo the structure was closed to road users and pedestrians on Saturday evening, with diversions in place over the town’s Twin Sails Bridge.

It reopened just before 10am on Tuesday morning.

However, one side of the footway is still closed to pedestrians.

Poole Quay Forum chairman Bill Constance said: “It seems to be an ongoing saga, and it does appear most of the things going wrong are relatively minor.

“The proper job, to replace the approach spans, has been done, and that appears to have gone well.

“All the delays now appear to be around finishing the job.

“We had the issue with the barriers, the timber on the walkways, and now the gates.

“The issue is minor things, that continue to go on. It just seems someone has done a bad job and are not being held to account.

“The people of Hamworthy and Poole Quay workers continue to suffer, all of the time.”

Borough of Poole (BOP) interim engineering manager Lynne Wait said: “During Saturday engineers were repairing a fault on one of the pedestrian gates.

“This meant one footpath was closed but the second was open for pedestrians.

“Unfortunately the fault was not resolved and the bridge operational before an unrelated fault occurred on another pedestrian gate on the other footpath.

“As the bridge could not be safely operated under these circumstances the decision was made to close Poole Bridge to all road users at 8pm on Saturday.”

Lynne added: “Engineers are still on site carrying out repairs to both gates and we anticipate Poole Bridge will be open to all road users tomorrow."

Poole Bridge will also close for its annual maintenance from 7am on Monday, September 24, until 7am, Monday, October 1.

Meanwhile, Hamworthy resident Brenda Nicholls said: “It feels like they’ve only had this working for a few weeks before something else goes wrong.

“When the bridge isn’t open it does make it harder for the people who live and work in Hamworthy.

“It is a bit disappointing that we are still having these little teething issues with it.

“It should have been sorted by now.”

The bridge, which had its official opening delayed seven times before finally opening to traffic in January, is part of a wider £23.3m investment by the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (DLEP), a business-led private and public sector partnership to promote economic growth.

The overall renovation project was delayed, engineers say, because of tough working conditions, late delivery of parts, unchartered utility lines and unmapped remnants of previous bridges.

The £4.7m bridge renovation costs are likely to have risen significantly, although BOP has not confirmed this.

It also remains unclear if contractor Interserve will have to pay any penalty costs as the project was completed well behind schedule.

Interserve was criticised by residents as the original project stalled leat year, with some people locally even calling for a public inquiry into the whole bridge issue.

Poole Bridge: a series of technical issues

SINCE the bridge reopened in January, more then six months behind schedule following a £4.7million refit, it has been hit by a string of technical glitches.

Last month (July) it was closed for two days after an inspection found problem with tie rods on the bridge's walkways.

Engineers used a barge to access the underneath of the structure, during which time cars were unable to use the crossing.

One footpath did remain open for pedestrians and cyclists though.

And in April the bridge was closed for more than a week after a fault with one of its safety gates.

Poole Bridge reopened in January following 16 months of renovation work.

The project was more than six months over schedule, and its opening date had been pushed back seven months.

Engineers blamed the delays on tough working conditions, late delivery of parts, unchartered utility lines and unmapped remnants of previous bridges.

Shortly after reopening the bridge underwent a series of overnight closures in February and March while permanent walkways were installed.

The bridge renovation is part of a wider £23.3m investment by the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (DLEP), a business-led private and public sector partnership to promote economic growth.