Having been out of service for yet another week, the Cowes Floating Bridge returns to service today (Friday).
Late last night a spokesperson for the Isle of Wight council advised,
“The council can now confirm that contractors have now completed the necessary repairs to the hydraulic ram and the Cowes Floating Bridge will return to service at 5am on Friday 4th December 2020.”
The Bridge was taken out of service last Friday due to “a hydraulic oil leak occurring from the south west ram”.
Background
This follows a series of periods of being out service since the 13 week suspension over the summer.
The Bridge was taken out of service on Saturday 7th November, returning on Monday 16th following failure of a component of the hydraulic ram.
It was also taken out of service Saturday 31st October due to a “blown weld on the north west prow hydraulics causing the leak”.
This following the Bridge being out of service for 13 weeks over the summer, losing the council over £100,000 in just one month.
The previous Floating Bridge ran at a profit, putting money into the council’s coffers, whilst Floating Bridge 6 has been a near-continuous drain on finances.
Image: © With kind permission Emma Gee
