Sandys Opposition MPs have added their voice to the controversial Somerset Bridge repairs, demanding to know if planning permission was granted for the temporary causeway across the water.

Work on the causeway is well underway, with a crossing nearly complete and very soon renovation work on the famous drawbridge will commence. Work is expected to last up to three-and-half-a-months.

Progressive Labour Party members Walter Roberts, Walter Lister, Eugene Cox, Dennis Lister and Senator Terry Lister claim the Government has not served the best interests of the residents in its handling of the operation.

They claim Works and Engineering Minister, C.V (Jim) Woolridge, told them that work on the bridge would start in late January or early February, and that it would be finished by the end of April.

"The Sandys' MPs have been complaining for years about the condition of the bridge. We are dismayed that this project was not started and finished during our off-season, especially when there would be mimimal boat traffic,'' they said. The MPs also fear there may be damage to marine life from the boulders that have been placed to form a foundation for the temporary link.

"We are also very concerned whether the landfill will be cleaned up entirely when the project is finished,'' they said.

Mr. Woolridge said an early spring date for the work was never promised, as only conceptual drawings had been made when he met with the Sandys MPs.

MPs slam bridge work He said engineers came up with the idea of the causeway when it became clear that a single-carriageway bailey bridge would cause traffic disruption in Sandys and beyond.

With regard to planning permission, Mr. Woolridge said the matter was discussed with acting Environment Minister Tim Smith and the Permanent Secretary, who gave the project their full support.

The possibility of an accident on the bridge, caused by its condition, was something which no one wanted to think about, which was why work had to continue, he said.

"What if someone were to go through the bridge and get killed? Safety is my main concern,'' said Mr. Woolridge, adding any harm to the environment would be kept to a miminum.

"Our engineers met with the National Trust's marine environmental committee and explained the situation, that afterwards we would have the minimum of damage -- you can do no more than that,'' he said.

TRANSPORTATION TRA