The Harbour Head Bridge along the main road from Stokesfield to Plaintain Garden River in St. Thomas has been reopened. The bridge was closed in October 2010, after it collapsed under the weight of a truck ladened with construction material. The structure had a weight restriction of 12 tonnes, which at the time was exceeded.
Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the National Works Agency (NWA), Stephen Shaw, says that the new bridge was completed last week and forms part of the Major Development Infrastructure Programme (MIDP), which is valued at over US$340 million. The bridge was rebuilt at a cost of just under J$50 million dollars.
Mr. Shaw says that among the scope of the works was river protective works, construction of approach roads and the construction of abutments. The bridge which accommodates two lanes of traffic is 200 meters long.
In the meantime, the Ward River Bridge, which is located along the road from Morant Bay to Golden Grove will shortly be demolished. The bridge which was declared unsafe is to be rebuilt under the MIDP. A temporary detour has already been created for use by motorists and will be in use within the next 10 days.
A two lane bridge, spanning 17 meters is to be built at a cost of 54 million dollars.
