The "Simpson Bay Causeway" Story

Simpson Bay Causeway on the island of Sint Maarten during
the construction stages.

It was an ordinary day.  Heading to breakfast at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club by traveling across the new Simpson Bay Causeway which now connects Airport Road near the Princess Juliana Airport to Union Road near the border of Dutch Sint Maarten and French St. Martin.  Tried to get on the causeway late last night after landing and picking up our rental car, but couldn't find the round-a-bout in the dark that would have allowed us to enter the causeway.  

Ship from the Netherlands brings the Swing Bridge (atop
the aqua colored ship) through the Simpson Bay Drawbridge.

The construction of the causeway started in early 2012 and was completed in December of 2013.  It has a total length of 2,493 feet and features a two-lane highway for motor travel as well as a bicycle and foot path.  Round-a-bouts at either end of the causeway lead to the entrance of it.  

Aerial view I found showing the Swing Bridge after
being installed on the causeway.

For years Carol and I had to fight traffic in the Simpson Bay area where a drawbridge is raised many times a day for water traffic to enter or exit the neighboring lagoon.  The new causeway will hopefully alleviate this traffic problem as well as decrease the time and distance from the Dutch side to the French side of the island.  

Photo of the Swing Bridge open for water traffic.  I took
this photo while having breakfast at the Sint Maarten
Yacht Club which is near the Simpson Bay Drawbridge.
Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Many residents thought the causeway was a waste of taxpayer money as well as a project that would never come to fruition, but the naysayers were proven wrong in this case.  Close to the center of the causeway stands the Swing Bridge which is 220 feet long and weighs 450 tons.  I can remember watching a  YouTube video of the swing bridge arriving by freighter from the Netherlands and passing through the Simpson Bay Drawbridge in May of 2013.  Unbelievable accomplishment that was expected to take up to three hours, but was completed in approximately 20 minutes.  When Carol and I arrived last night the bridge looked beautiful off in the distance with lights the entire length of it's structure.  

Photo I took on our return trip while the Swing
Bridge was in the closed position.

The new swing bridge is opened according to a published schedule to allow passageway for mega yachts and other ships between the two sides of Simpson Bay Lagoon.  While eating our breakfast we could see the Swing Bridge open to allow the water traffic to pass through.  Then, on our return trip to our villa, as we were reentering the causeway, the lights flashed and the Swing Bridge began to rotate.  "Wow, I ought to be able to get a good shot with the bridge open," I told Carol.  Shortly the boat passed and we waited for the bridge to rotate back to the original position.  Carol said, "Remember that our waitress told us that it has malfunctioned three times already and cars had to back off the bridge while someone had to come and fix it."  Luckily didn't happen this time, since after about three minutes it began to turn.  Not long after we exited the causeway and headed back to our villa near Orient Bay.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.