FERGUSONRobert Hart, Staff Reporter
CABINET APPRO-VAL has been granted for the construction of a $180 million permanent bridge to replace the recently destroyed Yallahs River Bailey bridge in St. Thomas.
Speaking at a press conference at the National Works Agency (NWA) corporate office, Maxfield Avenue, State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, also revealed that a further $14 million will be spent on road improvement work on an alternative route during the interim. "It is our expectation that work will start immediately," he said of the route which will take travellers across the Easington bridge in the parish.
600 FEET LONG
The new Yallahs bridge, which will be similar to the Bustamante Bridge (also in St. Thomas), will measure approximately 600 feet in length with a clearance of 20 feet and will accommodate two lanes of traffic as well as five extra feet of pedestrian walkway. "The lanes will be so wide that even if a car breaks down, there will be room to pass," Vando Palmer, NWA communications manager, would later tell The Sunday Gleaner.
"We are six weeks away from the final design of the bridge," Minister Ferguson told reporters during the briefing. Once the design has been completed, actual construction is expected to take from 22 to 24 months, he added.
The Minister also revealed that funding for the construction of the bridge has already been secured through the Mabey-Johnson organisation, operating out of the United Kingdom. Mabey-Johnson is currently involved in a bridge programme aimed at erecting 40 structures throughout the island over the next five years.
Jamaica Pre-mix Ltd., the island's largest aggregate supplier, said it lost over $1 million per day due to the destruction of the ford, through which it transported aggregate from St. Thomas.
During the briefing, however, Dr. Ferguson revealed that the company has rebuilt the ford and will be offering it as an alternative route across the Yallahs River for larger vehicles. Smaller vehicles will be discouraged from using the ford as the danger exists for those vehicles to be washed away during any further rains.
