A section of the newly opened Lossiemouth East Beach Bridge has been submerged during the weekend’s high tide.
Images show the beach end of the £1.8 million structure engulfed in seawater, with a big puddle obstructing people’s access to the town’s beloved sands.
Moray Council has stressed similar issues affected the previous crossing during high tides.
The bridge connecting Lossiemouth to the golden dunes opened in May after being cut-off for three years.
Hundreds gathered on the esplanade for an emotional ceremony to bid farewell to their treasured old bridge and celebrate the beginning of a new era.
Is new bridge too short?
But less than six months after this monumental occasion, parts of the bridge were seen sunk under several inches of water – with some claiming it has been built too short.
However, a Moray Council spokeswoman reassured residents this is a normal occurrence amid extremely high tides and there are no safety risks to the structure.
She said: “A few times a year there’s an extremely high tide at Lossiemouth East Beach, which engulfs the sand and dunes, as was the case with the last bridge.
“This was factored into the design and installation of the new bridge and we have no concerns about the suitability of the bridge at this time.
“We will consider if additional signage is required to alert beach users to the risks, we appreciate visitors to the area may not be aware.”
New Lossiemouth bridge a ‘raving success’
Rab Forbes, chairman of Lossiemouth Community Development Trust’s bridge committee, reiterated the council’s reassurance and said the bridge has been a “raving success”.
The campaigner helped lead the campaign for the new structure over several years and researched the history of the old crossing.
He added that while several residents have raised some concerns about the partial flooding at the structure, he stressed it is only seasonal and there is no reason for such concerns.
Mr Forbes said: “The bridge is fine and safe. It is not broken and it doesn’t need fixing.
“I personally expect that getting on and off the beach will be problematic for about 10 days a year during the high tide times. But that is just seasonal and it is anticipated.
“Around 200,000 people have crossed the bridge since it opened in May and the vast majority of people would say the bridge has been a raving success.”
Conversation