When the Premier announces that opening the Causeway is a priority, but so is safety, you have to believe him.

But approaching the vital artery in torrential rain on a rental bike, doubts may begin to form in your mind.

We have all seen photos of the mangled, crumbling, twisted remains of the bridge, and your mind starts to wonder, `how can it be open already?'

Yesterday, I bravely overtook the 2.1km of waiting cars, trucks and taxis and headed to the front of the Causeway queue.

The tired and wet looking Works and Engineering staff maintain that, even with the rain, it is perfectly safe to cross.

Patiently, I wait for the oncoming vehicles to leave the bridge. First you see the bikes weaving and bobbing around the debris that litters the Causeway, then the cars, dropping the odd wheel into the many pot-holes, before moving on.

And then, with a "take it slow, my friend" from the Ministry man, I entered the Causeway.

Whatever material used to create the temporary surfaces where the tarmac has been damaged, had by this time been turned into mud by the torrents of rain that lashed the bridge throughout its first morning of daylight only, one-way post-Fabian operation.

Bikes in particular had to pick their way expertly through the debris to find safe passage.

Many times when you raised your head you could see only water to your sides. Large chunks of the bridge are missing sections of wall and the myriad cones, strung together with warning tape, do little to provide reassurance, nor protection.

The importance of linking St. George's, St. David's and the Airport are obvious. The safety of the Causeway, however, is not.

Maybe it was the persistent rain that created the fear and doubt in the minds of many Monday drivers, but there was no escaping the fact that just 72 hours after four people lost their lives on this dangerous, exposed part of Bermuda, vehicles are back on it - whatever the weather.