PROBLEMS with Twins Sails Bridge will now drift into 2021 after repair work had to be halted in the latest issue for the troubled crossing.

BCP Council previously said repairs this week, which required a closure of the Poole bridge, could bring it into “full operational order” before Christmas.

However, a statement from the local authority released yesterday confirmed this work had to be stopped after engineers identified a problem.

The work needed to be “reassessed” and the council said it would be “revisited as soon as possible” in the new year.

This most recent problem follows years of challenges related to the bridge but Hamworthy ward councillor Daniel Butt said the situation “wasn’t the council’s problem, it was the design of the bridge”.

He told the Daily Echo: “From what I gather, this isn’t a maintenance problem, it is a design issue.

“It wasn’t factored in how the wind blows down the channel. Other factors like the bridge shouldn’t be up when we have a 70mph wind.

“Originally, they put the bridge up in high wind and I think that put pressure on these pins that have been repaired. That is why we are in the situation we are.

“It is going to be an ongoing thing, but what do you expect? It is an experimental bridge. It is one of a kind in the world and there is no other bridge like it.”

Since the bridge opened in 2012 there have been a raft of issues, which led to prolonged closures.

Councillor Butt said the council’s transportation department was “doing everything they can to fix” the current situation, but added that it was a “difficult” task.

Yesterday’s statement from the council said: “During this week’s planned works to install the replacement pin and bearing within the second cylinder on Twin Sails Bridge, our contractors encountered problems threading the new assembly onto the cylinder rod end. Despite a huge effort by the team to resolve this issue, rather than force the thread and risk potential damage the decision has been made to halt the works and reassess the situation.

“The issue will not affect the workings of the bridge, which can continue to operate in single-cylinder mode as it has done so successfully since May 27, 2020, and it has already been reopened to traffic.

“The repair will be revisited as soon as possible next year, with every effort made to ensure that the work will coincide with planned maintenance to minimise disruption.”

Councillor Mike Greene, portfolio holder for transport, said: “It has been operating on one cylinder since May, which is not the best thing in the long term. They tried to get second cylinder engineered. When it has come through they are not happy with it, so the contractor has got to go back and try to replace it again, so they have reopened the bridge.

“This is a problem that has been going on for several years – long before I was involved. What I am hoping is that they can coincide the replacement part going in with routine maintenance that would in any way close the bridge at some stage during the spring.

“Hopefully there won’t be any added inconvenience but while it is operating on single cylinder, it puts more load on it than, ideally, you would want.”