PHILIPSBURG--The Simpson Bay bridge is temporarily closed for motorised traffic, pedestrians and maritime traffic as of 4:00am tomorrow, Thursday. The closure is necessary for the removal of the damaged operations control booth.
Around 5:00pm Sunday the bridge operator opened the Simpson Bay bridge for yachts to enter Simpson Bay Lagoon and was startled by a mega-yacht that came too close and struck his operations control booth. While the booth was heavily damaged, the bridge operator was uninjured.
After inspecting the damage, Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority (SLAC) decided to have the booth completely removed. Apart from structural damage, wires leading to the operations consoles were also damaged.
SLAC advises the public to avoid coming near the Simpson Bay bridge early Thursday morning. “Anyone in the area at that time should exercise extreme caution, as heavy equipment will be in operation.”
Drivers can make use of the causeway bridge to reach their destination.
