THE National Works Agency (NWA) yesterday said construction of the $402-million Yallahs Bridge at Poorman’s Corner in St Thomas is expected to begin on Saturday.

According to the agency, contractors E Pihl & Sons has started site mobilisation for the construction of the new bridge.

“Initial construction activities include test-pile driving to confirm actual design and data from this activity will confirm design assumptions for the abutments (foundation) and piers (walkway),” said the NWA. “If the pile-set results confirm that the assumptions are correct then pile-driving will continue for two months, the commencement date will be September 1, 2007.”

The project will last 14 months.

During the contract signing in April, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said extensive river training work would be carried out to keep the Yallahs River within its existing channel. She also announced that $25 million would be spent to de-silt the river upstream from the Easington Bridge all the way downstream to the ford.

The new bridge will be approximately 100 metres long and will be a major improvement for the area, which is frequently made impassable by heavy downpours and the passage of hurricanes. The project is jointly funded by the Government of Jamaica and the Export Credit Guarantee Department of the United Kingdom. With a minimum lifespan of 70 years, the new bridge is being built to withstand the most severe weather conditions.

Meanwhile, the NWA, which in the past days has been moving to clear blocked roads as a result of Hurricane Dean, said it had cleared 98 per cent of the 446 affected roads islandwide. Of this number, 360 have been fully cleared while 18 per cent are now open to single-lane traffic.

However, Morrison said 11 roads remain closed – eight of which are parish council roads with one in St Catherine, three in St Mary, three in St James and one in St Andrew. The three main roads which remained closed in St Thomas up until yesterday were affected by the flood rains between August 8 and 10.