Bridge work in St George’s led to long lines of backed-up traffic yesterday morning.

The Ministry of Public Works had said it would be opening and closing the swing bridge for inspection and testing purposes.

Eventually, the bridge was reopened to vehicles, but the work caused traffic to come to a halt on both sides.

A ministry spokeswoman thanked the public for their co-operation, adding: “According to ministry engineers, the necessary structural inspections took place between 10am and 12.30pm, however, the bridge did not close to traffic until 11am as crews were able to keep it open while preliminary works were undertaken.

“The bridge was swung open twice, with crews allowing the backlog of traffic to clear before opening it the second time. The works were carefully scheduled to allow all the inspection work to be completed in the shortest period of time.

“Once all the inspections were completed, traffic flow across the bridge resumed. The current load restrictions will remain in place.”

The work came on the same day that St George’s received its first cruise ship visit of the year, the 436-foot Minerva.