A ramp from the troubled Cowes Floating Bridge is being removed and shipped to Southampton so contractors can work on it there – the latest in a series of issues with the chain ferry vessel.
Further issues with Floating Bridge No.6 were announced last week, which are likely to impact the date it is brought back into service.
It has been out of action since August and was set to return in mid-November — a date already later than expected due to the damage being greater than first thought. It now seems like it will be just before or just after Christmas before vehicles can once again cross between East and West Cowes.
Problems encountered so far by the Isle of Wight Council include a replacement drive motor, the condition of the brake units and the delivery of parts, which is outside of the authorities control.
The latest move will see one of the ramps, which lowers to load and unload vehicles and passengers, removed and taken to a yard in Southampton.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said it was being done to allow works to the rams that operate the ramps. They said:
“It is the simplest and most cost-effective way to undertake the work as it allows the contractor to work on it at their facility where they have all the equipment they need.”
Cowes Harbour Commission yesterday (Wednesday) warned mariners the chain ferry was to be lifted and to navigate the area with caution while the work was being done.
Speaking last week, Cllr Phil Jordan, the cabinet member for Infrastructure and Transport, said unexpected new faults on the vessel had been found. He said at that stage the council was not sure if the parts were repairable or replaceable but they were bespoke not just off the shelf.
The return date for the Cowes to East Cowes crossing has yet to be set.
The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership has requested an independent review be carried out to determine whether the bridge is fit for purpose and is delivering the outcomes set out in the business case.
Cllr Jordan has previously said the investigation and report, as well as the outcome of the legal mediation, will help the council decide the future of Floating Bridge 6 and whether to scrap it for a new one.
Won’t be surprised if this ends up as a passenger only crossing, in the future, all vehicles having to go via Newport, strengthening the case for a bridge midway.
I suspect that this is actually the future. Rightly or wrongly.
Why are the council still wasting money on this piece of junk, just scrap the damn thing once and for all.
maybe there is more to this Wight Elephant than meets the eye ,it seems I.O.W Council are very desparate to have this White Elephant to run WHY, all at the tax payers expence, no expence spared ,it is not thier money they are wasting . .
Whilst few here are experts, the whole ramp looks so very flimsy. Nowadays in a bid to cut weight and cost, the bare minimum amount of steel is used, and I assume the lifting gear is made to ‘just’ cope, wheras in decades gone by, all would have been ‘over engineered’ as we see with vintage equipment still operating decades later than it was intended to do.
So whilst we now save a few pounds in cost and weight, we pay the price far more in weakness, delay, frustration and drivers having to waste more fuel in driving miles out of their way.
Penny wise, pound foolish fits the bill
The main fault with this heap of junk is they bought the damn thing !!!!!
And have continued to waste our money on it….
Mediation?????
Why do you need Mediation to realise it was the biggest mistake ever ,,,,,,,,,
Read the comments …..
Stop faffing about and make a decision pronto !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
why do they want mediation ? there should be legal Action not mediation , if i bought a car and i had this problem ,i would be given a new car or even my money Back, maybe the Council is at fault and do not want a can of worms to be open.
Would have thought two stone piers built out into the river, leaving a small gap wide enough for vessels, which could then be bridged by a small swing bridge would suffice and be cheaper and easier than all this fuss.
It is not as though much river traffic use this 24/7
I hope Red Funnel isn’t taking it.
What a state we have come to, not so many years ago there would have been a number of yards in the port of Cowes who could have dealt with any repairs to a floating bridge, difficult to believe there’s not one now.
I went down on Tuesday to have a look at the work being undertaken. I spoke to one of the workers who remarked “what was the guy in the drawing office thinking of when these ramps were designed ?” “They should have been made of Aluminium not the heavy steel”. He also said the ramp only needed to take 7 to 9 tons as the maximum weight in the FB No. 6 Technical Specifications was 7.5 tons. He told me they had cut off the front mounting for the troublesome hydraulic rams as it was just too heavy.
I have always thought the hydraulic rams were not correctly designed as they were operating at such a low angle making the lifting motion very hard.
This is why the Council are trying to avoid legal action through fear of getting bite back, Dave Stewart FOB me off in a letter and told me he canot comment,as there is an ongoing Legal Action ,why LIE to me .
if I had a company and people were relying on me for a good service and i keeped ripping them off i would be dragged in front of the courts and made to repay them with my own money why can’t we hold Dave Stewart and all the other so called councillors to account they think that when they leave office that it any other business will be forced to pay for their mistakes
It’s simple the previous chain ferry was fine just remodel it on that ? This new one looks rusted out already ? Not fit for purpose hold that idiot Bacon responsible?
Why don’t they transport the whole thing to Southampton and scrap it?
New Council, same old excuses.
Perhaps the Council should take a trip to Amsterdam to see how The the Dutch deal with many similar scenarios and have for hundreds of years. i.e. Lift Bridges.
Like we the people told the useless council the OLD floating bridge could easily of been repaired and put back into service with no change to slipway or chains saving say millions in the process but would they take notice! Not a chance they always have an I KNOW BEST ATTITUDE! now look at the situation,
Even better idea, tow it out into the middle of the Solent, and let the Navy use it for Target Practice.
This Council should now halt any further repairs and this means sending this ramp to Southampton, this will save any further out of pocket expences on the I.O.W tax payers ,there should be an Independant legal enquiry ,and to determin if this Wight Elephant is fit for its purpose ,and i am not talking about in months time ,BUT NOW, enough is enough ,this Wight Elephant should now be exhibited outside the I.O.W Council offices as a tribute to all thier efforts ?
Waiting for a Netflix comedy based on the IOW council and this debacle. Should be good. 😀