More than three years and four months after it was first reported broken, the Riverside Park pontoon is set to be craned back onto the water on June 9.
Article continues after this message...
It will be well over a year since the pontoon was hauled from the river, when repairs were expected to take around six weeks.
Testing part of the pontoon ahead of its full return to the river
The council said work was virtually complete before Christmas, but then it poured down and there were concerns that it would damage the park getting it back in the water
Explaining the delay, a council representative said: “There was a lot of welding needed on it, and a lot of things needed doing to it to get it back up to a standard where we can put it back in the water and make [it available] for mooring boats, because that’s what we essentially rent the space off of the Crown for – to provide a mooring station.”
It’s understood that the structure will be refloated without its former fence – added when it was last refurbished - to make mooring easier. Instead it will have a single rail down the middle, and a latched gate at the top of the gangway limiting access to smaller children.
Once back in the water it’s expected to remain closed for a short period for final adjustments.
On Thursday workers were seen testing the ‘bridge’ section of the structure ahead of the main installation, scheduled for next Tuesday (June 9).