After nearly a month stuck in an upright position, the lowering of the Cherry St. bridge over the Keating Channel in the Port Lands will be delayed another day.

The bridge at Lake Shore Blvd. E. and Cherry St. has been locked in its current state since Aug. 1 owing to what the City of Toronto described as a “mechanical/electrical failure.” It was announced early Wednesday that the bridge would be lowered into “horizontal position” that day, but by the evening, city spokesperson Eric Holmes conceded that the bridge would stay upright for one more day and efforts to lower the bridge would resume around 9 a.m. Thursday.

In an email, Holmes said Wednesday’s lowering was called off “due to increasing winds and delays related to the replacement of a malfunctioning winch, (which is) an integral piece of equipment to safely lowering the bridge.”

Even if the bridge is finally lowered on Thursday, don’t look to drive across it right away. “Structural inspections will take a few more days and the aim is to re-instate bridge access within a week,” Wednesday morning’s statement from the city said.

Traffic probably can’t return early enough for Shakir Omar, who manages The Keating Channel Pub and Grill next to the bridge. He told the Star in early August that business has slowed down markedly because of the malfunction. “We’re down probably between 30 to 50 per cent of our sales every day,” he said.

In his email Wednesday night, Holmes said that PortsToronto and the City of Toronto “appreciate everyone’s patience.”

Ilya Bañares is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @ilyaoverseas