Charging a toll to pass under the Sandy Ground Bridge: debates are underway

Unlike the passage under the Simpson Bay Bridge on the Dutch side, passing under the Sandy Ground Bridge is free; this also applies when the bridge is open. There are therefore many boats, particularly small crafts, that travel via the French side to go to Sint Maarten through the lagoon. This is especially true of the maritime shuttles that connect Anguilla and the Juliana airport.

The significant pace of their daily rotations was recently highlighted in a plenary session of the territorial council by Jules Charville, who wondered about the position taken on this issue by the Board of Directors of the Galisbay Port.

Jean-David Richardson, president of the Board of Directors, stated that debates were underway concerning the possibility of charging a fee to pass under the bridge. Indeed, these are territorial waters and the Collectivité is within its rights to charge for commercial use via a deliberation by the Territorial Council. The revenues collected could fund part of the maintenance of the infrastructure installed by the port, such as the buoys that mark the access channel.

But introducing a toll would mean that all boats, whether shuttles from Anguilla or French boats, would need to pay.