Many of you will have seen the first lifting of Poole’s iconic Twin Sails Bridge last month. The Bridge is on track for its opening in March 2012; both on time and on budget and at no cost to the Poole Council taxpayer. Poole’s Conservative Administration and the Town’s MP, Robert Syms, have been instrumental in gaining approval for the Bridge and securing the related third-party funding for Poole as well as driving through the development towards a satisfactory completion.
The new road network connecting to the Bridge is also nearing completion and your Conservative Administration is confident that the network will greatly improve traffic flows between Hamworthy and the Old Town. Once the Bridge has been completed either the old bridge or the new Bridge will be open at all times and traffic signs will direct vehicles to whichever bridge is open. When both are open, traffic will be directed to the new Bridge which is wider and has dedicated cycle lanes.
The new Bridge has given and will continue to provide the local economy with a real boost during difficult global economic times. Many local firms are sub-contractors or suppliers to the development. Going forward, the Bridge will provide an opportunity for the development of the adjacent derelict land which has been an eyesore on the Hamworthy side for too many years. In turn this will provide further economic stimulus for local businesses and encourage significant skilled and unskilled job generation in Poole.