A plan to erect a Bailey bridge over the St George’s swing bridge has been abandoned in favour of strengthening the bridge from below.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Public Works said work on a full-scale remediation for the bridge had already begun.

“We will be concentrating initially on the swing span which is presently the limiting section of the bridge,” the spokeswoman said.

“Solutions have been reviewed and the ministry has prepared a recommendation for cabinet which will be reviewed in due course.”

The bridge — which links St George’s to St David’s — was reduced to a single lane of traffic in December after an engineering survey found the bridge was seriously structurally compromised.

Craig Cannonier, the Minister of Public Works, announced shortly after that a Bailey bridge would be erected over the structure while work was carried out.

However, he said that some concerns were raised about how it would affect traffic in and out of St George’s.

“This would have required periodic closures of the bridge and, consequently, some level of service disruption to commuters wishing to traverse the bridge,” the spokeswoman said.

“This was understandably of some concern to local St George’s residents, especially with regards to access to emergency services.

“However, following a detailed inspection and assessment of the bridge, it was determined that it may be possible to strengthen the bridge from underneath without having to close the bridge to traffic. Accordingly, this solution was determined to be the preferable option.”

While a public meeting was told there was a limit of two months to have a Bailey bridge in place, the spokesman said there are no safety concerns with the bridge with the weight restrictions imposed.

“The strengthening works will enable us to remove the weight limit and will keep the bridge safe in the medium term while a long-term solution is developed,” she said.

“Had the Bailey bridge approach been appropriate, then we believe that the two-month period would have been reasonable, however we believe that this is a more measured and correct response to the situation.”

A request for proposal was put out in The Royal Gazette this week, and the ministry expect sresponses by April 22 and a contract soon after.

“The weight restriction will be lifted once the works are complete but the single-lane traffic will remain,” she said. “The start and completion dates for the works will be determined from the bidders’ responses.”