Sint Maarten. Première avarie pour le pont de Simpson Bay, trafic interrompu durant 3h30

POINT BLANCHE, St. Maarten – Port of St. Maarten – The Simpson Bay Causeway is back in operation after experiencing a technical glitch before 4.00pm on Wednesday afternoon.  Thereafter it was closed to motorized traffic and re-opened on Wednesday evening at 7.30pm for vehicular and marine traffic.  Prior to re-opening, a test run was carried out.

The Causeway was closed Wednesday afternoon after experiencing technical difficulties.  The bridge was closed in order to trouble shoot the problem.  The problem arose due to a default of the electrical sensors. The relay was used to override the system.  The technical matter is to be further investigated and the Causeway is still under guarantee for these types of eventualities.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies apologizes to the general public and visitors for any inconvenience caused.

The Causeway once again demonstrates that the South side of the island has to have two road connections, and when one becomes impassable, the other one serves the purpose of keeping the Cole Bay area connected to the Simpson Bay/Airport/Cupecoy area.  Whether it’s the Causeway or the Simpson Bay Bridge that may suffer a mechanical or technical challenge, when one is down, the aforementioned districts still remain connected.

The Simpson Bay Causeway falls under the Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority Corporation.  The Lagoon Authority aims to ensure that Sint Maarten remains a top yachting destination in the Caribbean while ensuring a safe, secure, pollution free and environmentally sustainable Simpson Bay Lagoon.  The Causeway is just one of several initiatives leading to the aforementioned.

Construction of the Causeway started early 2012 and was completed in December 2013; and was put into use on December 23 to help relieve traffic holiday season congestion in the Simpson Bay area.

The Causeway was officially inaugurated in January 2014.  Construction was carried out by Volker Stevin Caribbean.

The Swing Bridge on the Causeway is 220 feet long and weighs 450 tons.  The Causeway has a total length of 2493 feet and features a two-lane motorway, a bicycle track and footpaths.

The new Causeway has two round-a-bouts at the Airport Road near the end of the runway and at Union Road near the border.  There are also two protected sidewalks for pedestrians and a bicycle track.