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WHITBY SWING BRIDGE LATEST - New part arrives - Council statement
SCARBOROUGH Borough Council has confirmed it has taken delivery of the replacement parts for Whitby's 100-year-old swing bridge.
The latest statement released to the Whitby Gazette says:
Whitby Swing Bridge remains inoperative but we still hope to have it in full working order by the weekend and we are putting every possible effort into making this happen.
The replacement parts for the worn out gearbox shaft have today arrived in Teesside from Italy and are currently being combined with other bridge components at the council contractor's workshop. Testing will be carried out tomorrow and then engineers will be on site on Friday morning to start installing the new gearbox shaft. We still hope to be in a position to open the bridge by Friday evening.
In anticipation of the new parts arriving in Whitby, the actual movement of the bridge has been manually tested today and was not found to be jammed, so we are hopeful that once the new gearbox shaft has been installed, the bridge will be returned to its full working order.
We are still providing shuttle bus services that are operating between the two sides of the town. This service is free to the public and will operate approximately every seven minutes from 6am to midnight throughout the period of the bridge closure. Appropriate signing has been provided at the bridge and elsewhere to direct people to the temporary bus service, which is available from the Bus Station on Victoria Square on the west side of the river and from Mister Chips on Church Street on the east side of the river.
Council officers have been drafted in from other parts of the borough in an ambassadorial capacity and are on site directing residents and visitors to the shuttle bus services and helping to provide general information about the current situation.
Private entrepreneurs, independently of the council, are continuing to ferry passengers across the river and they are currently charging 1 for this service.
Officers from North Yorkshire Police are assisting with traffic management.
John Riby, Head of Technical Services said: "Firstly, I would like to repeat my thanks to members of the public for their continuing patience and understanding and again, I apologise to everyone who is being affected by the inconvenience. The good news today is that the vital parts for the gearbox shaft have arrived from Italy as planned and we are putting every possible effort into getting the bridge open for the weekend.
"The Police are assisting with traffic management and our officers are acting as ambassadors in the area helping members of the public as much as they can and ensuring that the message is getting out that Whitby is still very much open for business."
* Latest news and reaction from traders on the swing bridge closure in Friday's Whitby Gazette.
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Weather for Whitby
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: -3 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 37 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
