By Robert Lalah, Staff ReporterEXUBERANT CHEERS flowed from the mouths of motorists travelling on Spanish Town Road, St. Andrew, last Friday, in approval of the reopening of the section of the Sandy Gully truss bridge that accomodates traffic going toward Six Miles.
The bridge had been closed to vehicular traffic since April 2003. It was reopened after a short ceremony, at which Vando Palmer, communication and customer service manager at the National Works Agency (NWA), Dr. Fenton Ferguson, minister of state in the Ministry of Transport and Works, and Robert Pickersgill, minister of transport and works, all thanked the building firm, Nakash Construction, for its hard work in getting the bridge ready.
Mr. Pickersgill gave particular praise to the company for managing to stave off extortionists, who made several attempts to exploit the project.
"I must commend Nakash Construction Limited and Member of Parliament O.T. Williams for the resolve they exhibited in resisting the demands of the extortionists. In so doing, they have shown their support for the Ministry of Transport and Works and the NWA's drive to demand value for money on projects," Pickersgill said.
He noted also that it was this effort that allowed the project to be completed within the $30 million budget. Mr. Palmer added that the bridge was completely new, as almost every part was replaced in the refurbishing process. He said with proper maintainance, the bridge should be intact for about 100 years.
After the short ceremony, the ribbon was cut, allowing traffic to flow freely on the bridge for the first time in 18 months.
