Millennium Bridge in Gosport will soon be working for first time in years, says borough council

For years now the mechanism that opens and closes the bridge has been broken trapping boat owners in the lake with their vessels falling into decay.

Gosport Borough Council owns the bridge and has been carrying out repairs since March 2019.

In a statement, the council said it is going to do tests of the bridge's mechanism which would mean closures for pedestrians and cyclists wishing to cross over.

‘The mechanism that raises and lowers a section of the bridge, allowing taller boats to pass through, has not been working for some time, and specialist contractors have been working to fix it.

‘Final repair work on the bridge will start on Monday 24 January. The bridge will be closed to pedestrians and cyclists from 9am on Monday until 5pm on Wednesday 26 January.

‘There will be a test lift of the bridge on Wednesday to see if the work has been successful.

‘The bridge will re-open to pedestrians and cyclists on Thursday, but there may be more test lifts that day and on Friday 28 January, which will mean some restrictions on access.

‘The council apologises for the inconvenience the bridge closures will bring, but the work next week is essential to bring the lifting mechanism back to normal operation.’

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Alistair Dilley is a trustee for Maritime Workshops, a charity that trains youngsters in shipwright work and holds moorings for boaters - he has been waiting for the bridge to open for six years.

‘When I first came here, I came here to help volunteer to work on the steamboat,' he said.

'It was a boat that we restored originally back in 1983 and it was around this boat that the maritime workshop was founded.

‘I spent four or five years on the restoration thinking that as soon as that's over, I will go off.

‘That’s what I bought my boat for but it wasn’t to be, thank you very much Gosport Borough Council.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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