The Isle of Wight Council has confirmed that the Floating Bridge is to resume a normal service tomorrow (Monday).
It’s said that repairs and inspections to the trouble chain ferry are now complete. However, due to exceptionally bad weather, including strong tides and winds, the service won’t resume until conditions improve and the vessel can land safely.
It was last Saturday that the East Cowes to Cowes service was suspended when a hydraulic ram failed, which came only a week after a hydraulic oil leak stopped the service. That failure happened only days after Floating Bridge No.6 re-entered service after undergoing 14 weeks of repairs.
It was initially planned that the troubled vessel would be out of the water for less than 2 weeks back in July to enable maintenance work to take place. However, significant issues were discovered and Floating Bridge No.6 was out of action for over 3 months.
The foot passenger launch remains in operation this weekend, although passengers are advised to avoid the crossing around high tide or ensure they have adequate footwear.
Floating Bridge will re-enter service at 05:00 tomorrow morning (16th November).
Why not build a non floating bridge, or better yet, a Medina freedom tunnel, some kind of “fixed link” for East and West cowes.
Yes, that idea surely has never been thought of before. Maybe I should set up a gofundme and scam people
How much do you want??
I will pay!!
In one series of Auf Weidersein Pet, they have to take down and then re errect a ‘transporter’ bridge, which is just a high structure steel spanning construction, high enough to allow ships to pass in the river, with a massive suspended cradle in which cars, and people are winched across well above the water.
Then tide heights matter not. and river traffic is no issue to allow past.
They sold it to some native Americans in the prog.
There is a transporter bridge in Middlesborough, but at the moment is closed for servicing and repairs, and is not expected to reopen until next March. Perhaps not such a good idea.
“the service won’t resume until conditions improve and the vessel can land safely.”
and i thought it was a chain ferry and not a plane !
Maybe that’s why it’s not fit for service, they ordered the wrong thing.
5 days before something else breaks on it
I will meet that and raise you two – three days!
Maybe someone could set up a betting website or maybe the IOW lottery should get involved and people could win money by guessing how long it’ll run for this time! A sweepstake perhaps.
Once it was news when the floaty was not running. Now it is news when it is running. You cannot make it up.
Simply ensure YOU vote this council OUT. Incompetent, highly suss, and ruining this Island by allowing to much building.
The care NOTHING for the Island people, only their own little clic, and will ruin the standard of lives for us, so long as they gain from such.
Whilst much of this disaster of the floating bridge is not directly the councils fault, they are responsible for ensuring that their legal team should have ensured payment was on condition of it being ‘fit for purpose’ which it clearly hasn’t been and it likely not to be moving forward.
With their dubious developer/ planning symbiotic relationship, these people cannot be trusted by the public.
They need to GO.
Great picture! Not only is the bridge NOT floating, having the hinges of the ramp extension under water is going to do them a world of good. Brilliant planning by somebody.
Please don’t state ” back to normal service ” normal service means no service!
Make it a week lol
Is it working under it’s own steam or is it being pushed as it was last time?