CONSTRUCTION ON the long-awaited Yallahs bridge is scheduled to begin in two months, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller announced on Wednesday during a contract-signing function at Jamaica House.

Mrs. Simpson Miller did not give a date for when work would start, but said the 100 metre-long bridge will cost over $400 million. Local engineers will work alongside British company, Mabey Johnson, and E. Pihl and Sons of Denmark, on the project, which is scheduled to be completed in two years.

"The new bridge will have a minimum lifespan of 70 years, and I am told it is being built to withstand the most severe weather conditions," the Prime Minister said.

Persons travelling to Kingston from south St. Thomas have been incon-venienced by the absence of a bridge over the past 16 months. A temporary bridge, built in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, was demolished by heavy rains three months later.

Protective measures

The Bailey bridge, opened amid much fanfare by then Prime Minister P.J. Patterson just before general elections in October 2002, was destroyed five months after by flood waters.

Mrs. Simpson Miller said engineers will take "necessary protective measures" to ensure the new bridge does not suffer a similar fate when the Yallahs River overflows its banks.

"Particular attention has been given to putting in place extensive protective and river training to keep the river to its existing channel," she said.

Dr. Fenton Ferguson, Member of Parliament for East St. Thomas, and West St. Thomas MP James Robertson, were present at Wednesday's signing.