BROKEN BRIDGE BOTHER
Town crossing sticks open at busy time
DOZENS of people were left stranded after a swing bridge became stuck.
The Pont yr Aber across Afon Seiont, linking the town of Caernarfon with the foreshore the other side became stuck about 2pm on Saturday.
Photographer Andrew Currie said: “The swing bridge was opening for the pleasure cruiser ‘Queen of the Sea’ to enter the Menai Strait but it stuck after opening a short distance. An attempt was made to pull the bridge open using a rope from the cruiser, but it seemed that either the boat lacked the power or couldn’t get into a suitable position.”
Mr Currie said: “Pedestrians and cyclists were waitingwaiting onon both sides of the river;river; some to return to their caravan site after walking intoo the town and some returning to the castle car park from the park and playground across the river.”
The popular bridge Pont yr Aberer bridge was saved afterafter being listed for possibleossible council cuts. But thethe plansplans sparked fierce opposition in the town and an online petition gathered more than 25,000 names.
Gwynedd Council said £54,000 could be saved by the closure – as plans to plug a £33m funding gap.
If it had closed, it would have meant residents having to face a diversion of close to two miles. The current swing bridge was built in 1970, and replaced an earlier bridge which dated back to 1900.
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “Due to a problem with the hydraulic system, the Aber swing bridge was temporarily closed to pedestrians for an hour on Saturday afternoon. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and are pleased to confirm that the bridge was back up-and- running by 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
“In terms of the future running of the swing bridge, following a comprehensive public engagement exercise that considered a range of possible service cuts, the council decided in March of this year not to close the bridge to pedestrians.
“However we are continuing in our efforts to consider if there are ways of reducing the cost of the facility to the Gwynedd Council taxpayer.”