KINGSTON, Jamaica — The National Works Agency (NWA) says a section of Liguanea Avenue in Barbican, St Andrew will soon be closed to facilitate works to replace a defective concrete bridge located along the roadway.

The project, which is scheduled to begin sometime next month, is estimated to cost some $26.5 million.

NWA Communication and Customer Services Manager, Stephen Shaw, said in a statement a short while ago that the works will see the upgrading of the roadway from single lane to two lanes while existing ancillary features such as sidewalks and kerb walls will also be refurbished.

Shaw advised that the road closure will have to be effected to facilitate the project, which involves the demolition of the existing structure. He said among the roadways to which traffic will be diverted are Hope Road, Barbican Road, Paddington Terrace, East Kings House Road, Kings House Avenue and Sandhurst Crescent.

NWA said that while a contract is currently in place to undertake the bridge works, preliminary activities including the removal of other service provider’s assets from the structure, will have to be completed before physical works can commence.

The Liguanea Avenue project is one of a number of current bridge works the NWA said it is undertaking in a bid to reduce its deficient bridge inventory by one per cent per year.