TW

Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm, Spanish army engineers will begin work on installing a provisional bridge in Arta to replace the one which was seriously damaged by the heavy rains and flooding on 9 October.

Since the storms, which caused millions of euros worth of damage to central and eastern parts of the island, the Ma-12 road has been out of action. However, tomorrow, some 30 members of the Spanish army engineers will arrive from their base in Zaragoza and, with the aid of 15 members of the military based here in the Balearics, will start work on installing the temporary bridge.

Armed forces sources said yesterday that, once all the materials and equipment are in place, the task should be completed with 24 hours.

The bridge will be installed some 40 metres below the original one, which is currently being repaired.

It will be four metres off the ground, 15 metres in length and capable of handling a maximum weight of 67 toness so only vehicles weighing under 30 tonnes will be permitted to use the bridge.