SIX months after the cross beam supporting the Sandy Gully Bridge on Spanish Town Road gave out, the National Works Agency (NWA) has started a $15-million repair job on the 50-year-old structure. The project is part of a wider multi-million dollar bridge repair/replacement programme currently being undertaken across the island.

“The cross beam had failed after years of deterioration. So the option that we faced was to either build a new bridge or repair the current structure that was there,” Vando Palmer, the NWA’s director of communications, told the Observer. “When we did the calculations for the new bridge, given the financial constraints that we have now, we recognised that we were not in a position to build a new bridge. So, the decision was taken to repair this bridge.”

By their estimates, he said, the construction of a new bridge would have cost in excess of $100 million. And that does not include the roughly $30 million it would have cost to relocate the National Water Commission’s pipes, located beneath the bridge, which supply water to a large section of downtown Kingston and Spanish Town’s commercial area.

Palmer explained that the delay in starting the work was due to the research that had to be done to determine the strength of the bridge.

Work began about four weeks ago, and since then the bridge has been closed. Motorists travelling to and from Kingston have been diverted to a second bridge parallel to the old structure.

“When you get to the vicinity of the bridge, between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, the traffic leaving Kingston going west will occupy two of the three lanes on the new bridge. In the morning, from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, coming into Kingston, the east-bound traffic occupies two of the three lanes,” Palmer said.

He said the repair work, which is being carried out by Nakash Construction Company Limited, includes:

* sandblasting to remove rust from parts of the bridge in order to uncover the solid metal surface that may be in need of new nuts and bolts;

* strengthening of the isolated areas of the structure; and

* painting of the bridge.

“The girders (the long beams that go from one end of the bridge to the other) are coming in from Canada,” Palmer said. “They are going to be arriving in the island in another two weeks, and that’s when the real work starts. The contractor is now preparing to start the demolition of the deck of the bridge in preparation for the arrival of the girders.”

Based on the amount of work to be done, Palmer estimated that the project would be completed between the end of February and early March next year.

Palmer also disclosed that:

* $32 million is being spent to build a new steel and concrete Banbury Bridge in St Catherine;

* repairs, costing $15.5 million, are being done to the bridge along the main road between Savanna-la-Mar and Llandilo in Negril by TankWeld Construction Limited. Completion is expected early next year; and

* a new Alligator Church Bridge is being built in Portland at a cost of $15 million. Completion is scheduled for the first quarter of next year.

The repairs and replacement of bridges across the island follow a bridge survey that Palmer said was ordered by NWA head, Ivan Anderson.