When Sheppey’s second crossing opened on July 3, 2006 it signalled the end of traffic nightmares.

It also freed space in this newspaper - especially the Letters page. Almost every week we carried stories of life or death hospital delays, missed appointments, loss of business, campaigns for another bridge, and the most common complaints of “the bridge goes up long before a piddling little boat with its mast up is barely in view”.

And in the summer months drivers sat with steam coming out of their ears as the wheels sunk in hot tarmac.

Imagine how it was in 1922 when the bridge was out of action for three months to road traffic and a staggering 10 months before trains were allowed through.

On December 17, 1922, the Norwegian ship Gyp collided with the bridge damaging the lifting span and creating a 70ft gap. Admittedly traffic was lighter then and much of it horses and carts, but the Island was completely cut off from the mainland.

In March 1923, we published an illustrated supplement showing the different stages of repairs which cost between £40,000 and £50,000.

It was a different story for the railway. A staff halt was removed and a temporary stop built north of the bridge called KFB North Halt. Train passengers had to walk over the bridge to continue their journey.

The halt was closed when the bridge was fully operational again in November 1923. Some time lag!

The public were to walk over the bridge for a second time - and in celebration - when the tolls charged by the railway on road traffic were redeemed for £50,000 by Kent County Council in 1929. What a day that was - flags fluttering from the bridge, be-ribboned cars vying to head a procession of jubilant walkers.

Nothing compares to the memorable walk over the Sheppey Crossing in 2006 before it opened to road traffic. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of us accepted the invitation from organisers Sheppey Round Table to make history and walk.

We each paid £15, received a commemorative T-shirt and were bussed to the site. The day was fine and spirits high - some of us on sticks, some in wheelchairs, some in fancy dress and children in pushchairs or carried shoulder-high, eager to boast “we did it”.

At 115ft and level with the pillars of the existing bridge, we marvelled at the view, gulped at the seemingly low walls and silently thought “why weren’t a few pounds more splashed to have it lit at night.’’

Are we never satisfied?

Money from the event was a welcome boost to local charities, including the purchase of a mini bus - Sheppey Wheels - for Sheppey Matters.

In September 2013 the crossing was in the news again - for the wrong reason. More than 130 vehicles were involved in a pile-up in early morning fog. There were injuries, serious damage to cars and motorcycles, but miraculously nobody died.

The emergency services did a fantastic job of ferrying the injured to hospital and in clearing the southbound carriageway. Incredibly, the following morning, in identical weather conditions, drivers were still speeding!

But there we have it - a splendid archway, flanked by the imposing KFB. How impressive is our two bridge gateway!

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