in case of an emergency, St. George's town councillor Mr. E. Michael Jones said yesterday.

Mr. Jones, a United Bermuda Party candidate for the House of Assembly, dismissed calls for a new bridge spanning the mouth of Ferry Reach. That would probably cost about $15 million, he said, would require costly road-widening, and would cut through Ferry Reach Park.

But Government should develop a detailed plan that can swing into action the moment a disaster or breakdown cuts St. George's off, he said.

Bus drivers should know what to do, he said, and arrangements made for appropriate boats to be called in quickly to act as ferries across Ferry Reach. The necessary docks must also be provided, he said.

Such a plan would go a long way to toward easing the fears of St. Georgians -- and those who must travel to St. George's -- that they will be cut off. And the same plan could also ensure that people are not isolated from the airport by a failure of Longbird Bridge or the Causeway.

Mr. Jones said he happened to be approaching the Swing Bridge when it jammed last month, and noticed that bus drivers simply stopped, watched and waited like other drivers. Instead, he said, a plan for an emergency shuttle service could automatically have come into play.

Mr. Jones said he hopes to arrange a meeting involving Police, Marine and Ports, Transportation, Fire and other officials to discuss the problem and devise a clear-cut plan that could be implemented if the road link to St.

George's was suddenly severed.

There is just one single road running east from the main island at Grotto Bay, the airport and St. George's.

The road crosses three potential weak points that could be blocked by hurricane, accident or mechanical failure: The Causeway and Longbird Bridge on the way to the airport and the Swing Bridge crossing Ferry Reach to St.

George's.

Traffic was almost completely stopped by a mechanical failure at the Swing Bridge one evening last month.

Longbird Bridge has had a long history of repair problems, and just re-opened last weekend after being closed for repairs since September, 1990. The Bermuda Regiment erected a temporary bridge while repairs were underway.

Mr. Jones said each of these potential weak points should be examined and a report made on its condition and the availability of spare parts. And the Causeway should be surveyed, he said, to assess its strength and ability to withstand storms and hurricanes.