The Simpson Bay Bridge on the Dutch side of St. Maarten will be undergoing repairs during the period of November 3-21, 2008. Bridge openings for boats will be limited.
According to the October 28th Daily Herald, there will be repairs to the botom-side welds of the lift deck and will improve the lift deck driving mechanisms. After sandblasting and cleaning the bottom of the deck, the company will repair any further deficiencies of the deck.
A new motor and speed controller will be installed to ensure that the bridge can be operated at a higher wind speed limit than now is the case. A data monitoring and logging system will be put in place to keep track of the bridge's performance.
The works will further include extensive maintenance, such as the blasting and cleaning of all steel structures and the painting of the bridge with three or four layers of coatings selected specifically to provide protection agaist the corrosive marine environment.
When repair work is being done underneath the bridge deck, no maritime traffic will be allowed to pass under the bridge deck, as passage will be blocked by a pontoon. All maritime traffic will have to make use of the passage under the bridge at the Coast Guard/police station side of the channel.
- Open at normal off-season opening times of 9:30am, 11:30am and 5:30pm through Wednesday, November 5th.
- Closed: November 6-8
- Open, Sunday November 9
- Closed November 10-15
- Open, Sunday, November 16
- Closed November 17-19
- After November 23, the bridge will coninue to open daily at the regular hours again...
You can contact SLAC (Simpson Bay Lagoon Aurthority Corporation) Collection Office at the police station in Simpson Bay next to the bridge at (country code 599) 545-3183 or call the bridge operator on VHF ch.12
All the best!
