The council moved with unusual speed on Tuesday to approve an emergency ferry service across the River Ashwater, nine days after the closure of Fernwick Bridge left 14,000 daily commuters scrambling for alternatives.

The emergency infrastructure committee, chaired by Council Speaker Desmond Falk, approved a 940,000-florin contract with Ashwater River Services to operate a passenger ferry between Thornhill Reach and Bramblegate Steps. The service will run at 15-minute intervals from 6 AM to 10 PM daily, carrying approximately 200 passengers per crossing. First sailings are expected by 6 March, pending the installation of temporary boarding pontoons at both embankments.

“Fourteen thousand people have been walking an extra forty minutes each way, or cramming onto the Coldharbour Viaduct, or simply not making the journey at all,” said Falk. “This is not a permanent solution. It is the fastest credible relief we can provide.”

The Bridge That Broke

The urgency reflects the severity of the Fernwick Bridge assessment. Malcolm Stroud of Hallam & Stroud, the engineering consultancy overseeing the structural review, confirmed at the weekend that all four of the bridge’s suspension cables have fractured — not three, as initially reported. The cables, original to the 1914 construction and twice reinforced (1968 and 1991), had exceeded their design life by decades.

Full repair will require complete cable replacement: an operation Stroud estimates at 8 to 12 months and 55 to 65 million florins. The bridge, which connects the residential district of Thornhill to the commercial areas around Bramblegate, will remain closed for the duration.

Stroud has also been commissioned to conduct an emergency assessment of all Ashwater crossings, including the Coldharbour Viaduct, the Millgate tram bridge, and the Lower Ashwater Footbridge. “Fernwick is the bridge that broke,” he said on Monday. “It is not the only bridge that is old.”

Commuter Relief

For the residents of Thornhill and eastern Bramblegate, the ferry cannot arrive soon enough. The Coldharbour Viaduct, designed for 8,000 crossings per day, has been carrying nearly double that volume since 21 February. The Transit Authority reported on Tuesday that morning peak crossings at Coldharbour have averaged 15,200 since the closure — creating delays of 20 to 35 minutes for vehicles and significant pedestrian congestion.

Estelle Danforth, a bookkeeper who commutes daily from Thornhill to Upper Fernwich, described the past week as “an exercise in creative misery.”

“I’ve tried Coldharbour, I’ve tried the footbridge and walking up through Millgate, and on Friday I simply did not go to work,” Danforth said. “A ferry won’t be as fast as the bridge. But it will be something.”

The ferry fare has been set at 30 centimes per crossing — subsidised by the council to remain below the standard 50-centime tram fare. Monthly passes will be available at 12 florins. The Transit Authority will honour existing tram passes on the ferry route.

Cost Pressures

The 940,000-florin contract adds to a growing list of emergency expenditures straining the municipal treasury. Deputy Treasurer Annabel Whitford testified on Monday that the city’s capital contingency reserve stands at 142 million florins, already partially drawn down for Bramblegate Market roof repairs earlier this year.

With the Fernwick Bridge repair estimated at 55 to 65 million florins — and the tramway copper overrun at approximately 510 million — the council faces an infrastructure funding gap that no single budget can close.

“The ferry is necessary and the cost is manageable,” said Councilman Aldric Voss, who voted in favour despite his reputation for fiscal conservatism. “But I would ask my colleagues to note that we have approved 940,000 florins today for a ferry because we did not spend the money to maintain a bridge. The lesson should not require repetition.”

Ashwater River Services, a private firm that currently operates leisure and charter services on the lower Ashwater, will deploy two vessels: the Thornhill Star, a 220-passenger motor launch, and the Bramblegate Belle, a smaller craft serving as backup. The firm’s managing director, Gwen Alderly, said the company was “honoured and ready.”

Work on the Thornhill Reach pontoon will begin Wednesday morning. Bramblegate Steps, which already has a disused commercial wharf, will require less modification. The Transit Authority has committed to installing route signage and integrating the ferry timetable into the city’s transit information boards by the end of the week.