Whitby Town Council says it has no reassurance that Highways’ chiefs are giving the town’s vital Swing Bridge link the priority it needs.
The Town Council say at the meeting of Full Council on Tuesday, County Councillor David Chance provided a report on recent failures of the Swing Bridge, which have seen it repeatedly stuck open over the summer and early autumn.
Speaking at the meeting, Town Mayor, Cllr Linda Wild, said:
“The county council has shown us no evidence for that and it is disingenuous of them to try to shift blame on to the dedicated local bridge staff and away from their own maintenance contractors and lack of investment.”
The bridge was designed in the horse-and-cart age. It was opened in 1909. Its technology and many of its components date back 112 years. There have been signs of strain in the bridge’s capacity to cope with modern life for more than ten years. In 2014, following a prolonged breakdown, a county council spokesman said:
"Breakdown of the bridge mechanism is now much less likely, but Whitby swing bridge is a mechanical bridge over 100 years old and so from time to time there will still be problems."
In July this year the bridge failed in the open position following what bridge engineers described as technical issues.
Following the town council’s vote to receive the report from Cllr Chance, Cllr Wild said:
“The people who live in this town rely on the bridge. Annually, it’s crossed thousands of times. When it breaks down, there is no practical alternative for pedestrians. We need a reliable, working bridge.
“The computer control may be only ten years’ old, but functionally, it’s just a switch. If my lights go out, I check the fuse and I check the bulb. I could have the best performing switch in the World, but I’d still be left in the dark. I think North Yorkshire County Council needs to show us the light!”
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