failure to do bridge work.

And she said both the Swing Bridge and Longbird Bridge in St. George's were long overdue for replacement rather than running repairs.

Ms Smith was speaking after a broken drive chain on the Swing Bridge brought rush-hour chaos on Monday.

And yesterday morning blown fuses at the Longbird Bridge caused delays of around 45 minutes to travellers, although the problem was sorted out almost immediately.

In April, the Swing Bridge jammed while being tested and had to be hand-cranked closed -- causing motorists to sit in queues and fume.

Ms Smith said: "We need a new bridge to replace the Swing Bridge -- this is not new. I've been saying this since I was in the Senate.'' Ms Smith added that a survey of the 1940s structure for the US Navy carried out years ago recommended replacement .

The St. George's North MP -- who includes the Swing Bridge in her constituency -- said she was concerned about problems as a regular user and from the point of view of business.

Ms Smith said: "You cannot have a commercial dock facility like the one at Penno's Wharf when you have a bridge built in the 1940s expected to withstand a certain kind of industrial traffic.

"It takes traffic now that was not even envisaged when it was built.'' Ms Smith added that Longbird Bridge -- also plagued with problems -- needed a replacement as well.

She added that an alternative route into St. George's "wouldn't do any harm'' either.

And she said a link between Ferry Reach and Coney Island, which has been suggested in the past, would fit the bill, easing congestion and wear and tear on the existing sole route, as well as bringing other spin-off benefits.

Replace bridges But Works and Engineering Minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge said the Swing Bridge was well able to cope with existing traffic.

He added: "There was a drive chain broken -- that could happen on any occasion. You could have a brand-new drive chain break.'' And he said that the Longbird Bridge was not the responsibility of Government -- but that of the US space agency NASA.

He added: "We are concerned that there are no breakdowns because it is the pulse of the community in terms of the airport and visitor arrivals. But it is the responsibility of NASA.'' Mr. Woolridge said he would be pleased to see a new Longbird Bridge -- and one built higher to avoid a bridge which needed to be opened to allow boats through.

The Longbird Bridge is part of ongoing negotiations with the US government over a clean-up of its former bases on the Island. Talks started under ex-Premier David Saul and Finance Minister Grant Gibbons and have continued under Dr. Saul's replacement Pamela Gordon.

Mr. Woolridge said: "We will watch it and monitor it and if they were going to replace it out of their unlimited resources I would like to see a higher structure.

And he added: "I'm sure the issues surrounding Longbird will be dealt with by the Premier.'' TRANSPORTATION TRA