Construction on a footbridge extending the Railway Trail over Flatts Inlet has been confirmed to be paused indefinitely after years remaining stagnant.

The footbridge, spearheaded by the Friends of the Railway Trail, halted work in April 2022 after builders found an underwater cave near a planned spot for part of a foundation.

The cave posed a threat to stability and digging went on hold until a solution could be found.

Tucker Murphy, the head of the private group, said last week that the project designers still had not come to any conclusions, forcing it to be put on the back burner.

Dr Murphy explained: “Nothing is happening — we shut it down because if you keep it going, it’s a cost.

“We have ideas, but I don’t want to discuss ideas without having something concrete. There’s no point in tossing things out there if they’re not going to happen.”

Dr Murphy, who had being travelling on and off the island for several years, said that architectural plans for the footbridge were still being reworked, with several options on the table.

He added that there might be some progress by January — but could not guarantee it.

Dr Murphy said: “I think it’s possible it will be resolved, I think there’s a good chance, but until we resolve it, I just don’t have anything to say.”

The cave was reported to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Planning when it was discovered in 2022.

A geophysical study was carried out to determine an alternative placement for a support pylon.

Dr Murphy acknowledged the frustration over the halt, in the face of the public’s eagerness to see the project completed, and said many people had contacted him with questions.

As the Friends of the Railway Trail waited on results and weighed up options, the construction companies involved had to move on to other projects.

He explained that getting them back on board would be the next step once a solution was found — but would take time.

Since construction came to a stop, the half-built footbridge has suffered some vandalism.

Graffiti marring the beams on the north section walkway could still be seen last week, while plastic netting blocking access to the north section has been pulled aside.

Dr Murphy said that tackling any vandalism would be the responsibility of the Department of Parks, which has authority over maintaining the Railway Trail.

The parks department has been contacted regarding graffiti but no response was received by the time of publication.

The Royal Gazette was unable to determine the findings of any geophysical study on the underwater cave.

Many residents of Flatts Village shared their disappointment with the lack of progress.

Several welcomed the planned structure as a much safer option than walking on roads through Flatts that lack sidewalks in places and have many blind corners.

Debra Pinkerton, 68, who lives in the area with her sister, said that a footbridge connecting the island-wide trail would be a “wonderful, wonderful thing to offer people”.

She added that walking along North Shore Road in the Flatts area was dangerous, with a pedestrian bridge offering a safe alternative.

Ms Pinkerton said: “I see tourists and different people walking through and I just sort of grit my teeth because there’s just not enough room.”

Eimeir Johnston, 47, said she and her family moved to the area four years ago in part because of the footbridge, only to be disappointed after it got stalled.

She said: “It would have been amazing. I use the trails a lot with my dog, so any connections that can make those two sides of it work as a longer trail I think everybody would really love.

“We have so little green spaces in Bermuda that connecting them I just see as a benefit rather than anything else.”

Ms Johnston agreed that she did not feel comfortable walking around her neighbourhood, choosing instead to drive to the other side of the inlet.

She said the stretch of road outside her house had been the scene of so many crashes that she refused to let her young sons, aged 11 and 13, walk around the area.

Ms Johnston added that much of the neighbourhood had been left in the dark on the bridge, relying on rumours and word of mouth.

A 53-year-old man, who asked not to be named, described the incompletion as “a bit of a letdown”.

He said the walkway would have united the Bermuda-wide trail and been a route for tourists and the public to enjoy.

The man added: “The Railway Trail is there, it’s part of Bermuda’s history.

“Some people have said that you might not see the sunset because of it, but you can go out to the bridge and watch the sunset.

“There are limited things to do in Bermuda and this could get people out and exercise or do things away from the road because the road is dangerous.”

The man described the half-finished bridge as “a nice area to hang out” where people often go fishing and swimming.

He said he hoped to see it eventually completed.

Flatts Footbridge was approved for construction in 2018, with ground breaking a year later.

It was expected to stretch 730ft and stand 22ft above the low-tide mark — high enough to allow tour boats and moored boats to pass beneath.