Flatts walking bridge should be ready by October
A footbridge that will extend the Railway Trail over Flatts Inlet is expected to be completed by October, a spokesman for Friends of the Railway Trail said yesterday.
Tucker Murphy confirmed that volunteer construction workers started building pylons on the worksite on July 23.
He added that one of the bridges had also been assembled, with the other expected to be built later this month.
Dr Murphy said much of the building team’s focus had been on expanding the northern section of the footbridge.
He added: “Fortunately we have a very good team of volunteers who’ve been assembling the bridges, so we’ll be out again this weekend and next week working on a 65ft-by-6ft bridge.
“Once we have those two assembled we’ll lift them into place on the North Side, but that would be later – probably at the end of the month – before our focus is on the South Side.”
The central span over the inlet is the second phase of the project, which began in April, 2019 with two smaller bridges – one across North Shore Road and another over a nearby driveway.
The first phase of the project was opened in November 2018.
The bridge over Flatts Inlet uses the same pillars as the original railway line, although additional piers had to be added to the pylons.
Dr Murphy admitted that construction faced a “natural lull” earlier this year when revisions and repairs were slowed by the process of development permits.
But he added that bridge-building was “generally much easier in the summertime” because there were more volunteers available to work.
Dr Murphy said that it was “very satisfying” to be back at work, adding: “We’ve got a good mix of people volunteering and so it’s a nice group to work with.”
Dr Murphy added that many residents were eager to visit the footbridge.
He said: “The most common question we get is ‘when is it going to be finished?’
“I think people are ready to have a new access in Bermuda – I think people are always excited about something new.”
Dr Murphy reminded the public that the footbridge is still a construction site and asked passers-by to stay away from the bridge until it is completed.
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