Crippled Caledonian Canal swing bridge now repaired for both road and marine traffic
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A vital swing bridge at Inverness has just been repaired and declared open to both boats and cars after being crippled for about 24 hours.
On Tuesday morning trouble hit the Muirtown Bridge which takes road traffic over the Caledonian Canal and allows boats to navigate the busy waterway.
For some time the crossing was closed to both road and marine traffic, and even pedestrians could not use it.
Instead they had to use nearby lock gates to cross the water although they would be tricky for people with prams or pushchairs.
Engineers were quickly on scene and by early afternoon on Tuesday the bridge could be used by road traffic, which previously was diverted to use the Tomnahurich canal crossings about two miles east along the canal.
Boats had no such luxury without a very long voyage round John O'Groats at the top of the Scottish mainland.
A canal worker said: "The bridge developed some issues and the engineers were brought in and they worked hard to get it operating again. It was open to road traffic in early afternoon on Tuesday.
"All credit to the engineers. They worked hard on it and got it ready for test swings about 10.30 am today and they were successful."
The Courier asked Scottish Canals for information on the closure, but without response.
