Somerset Bridge -- the smallest drawbridge in the world -- is to be demolished and re-built to make it last for another 50 years.

And Government officials told The Royal Gazette of a plan for a permanent tourist guide to the tiny bridge, which dates back to the 1700s.

A temporary "Bailey Bridge'' will be assembled right next to Somerset Bridge to allow the work to start around the end of February.

Traffic will be diverted across the one-way makeshift bridge with priority given to Hamilton-bound traffic in the mornings and West End-bound traffic in the evenings.

Works and Engineering Minister C.V. (Jim) Woolridge unveiled the plans for the new bridge yesterday, saying work would take between eight and 10 weeks.

But he added the bridge, which has not been reconstructed since 1982, would be rebuilt to last for "more than 50 years''.

Government's principal structure engineer, Christopher Andrews, also told The Royal Gazette a permanent reminder was being planned to mark the bridge's history.

He said: "We are planning to have something next to the bridge for tourists and those interested in its history.

"It is likely to go ahead because this bridge dates back hundreds of years and it is part of Bermuda's heritage.'' Mr. Woolridge would not reveal the cost of the new bridge, to be built of reinforced concrete and non-structural timber.

He said: "We cannot reveal how much it will cost because the work has to go to tender.

"But we are building a bridge to ensure its future, none of the physical features will be changed and the bridge will still appear exactly as it is now.

"The face of it will even retain its wooden appearance. At the end, not only will we have restored one of our historical showpieces, but we will have a much safer bridge for everybody.'' He said Somerset Bridge had to be rebuilt because more and more heavy traffic had taken its toll.

Assistant chief engineer Dave Woodward added that Government was in the middle of a huge review programme of all the Island's public highway bridges.

He said: "We are undertaking a complete structural analysis and review of the maintenance and operation of all the bridges on the Island.

"We found that Somerset Bridge was in a state of structural distress and we have already done some work on it in the past year.'' Workmen put a timber "holding deck'' on the bridge to protect it from heavy vehicles until the rebuilding work could go ahead.

Mr. Woodward added: "We have been unable to start with a clean sheet of paper because of the historical significance of the bridge.

"We cannot reconstruct that bridge in its present position by running traffic on it.'' He said vehicle-flow on the 90-foot temporary bridge would be controlled by a traffic light system and he appealed for the public's co-operation during the roadworks.

Mr. Woolridge added: "We have considered the access difficulties and we apologise that there will be slight delays.

"We do ask for the public's patience and co-operation.'' Somerset Bridge has existed in its present form since 1936 and was also modified in 1960.