WESTERN BUREAU :
LITTLE LONDON, in Westmoreland, is to benefit from a $14 million bridge-building project, but Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill warned the contractors to avoid delays and cost over-runs on the project.
"We expect it to be completed in one year and of course we expect it to be completed on schedule and within the budget," Minister Pickersgill told contractor Jerome Gayle, of Tankwell, last Thursday.
The Minister was speaking at the signing of a contract for the construction of the Styx River Bridge at Bay Road, Little London. The bridge connects Savanna-la-Mar and Negril. Tankweld Construction Ltd. has responsibility for the construction exercise.
Explaining the need for a new bridge, Minister Pickersgill said, "Since 1994, a Bailey Bridge has been in place after the original bridge collapsed. The time has come to remove the Bailey Bridge and give the people a brand new $14-million bridge that can accommodate two-lane traffic."
He adds that extra effort will be made to safeguard the structure, by putting in Gabion Basket protective works on the bridge.
The Transport Minister also announced that segment one of the five-year-old North Coast Highway was nearing completion. That phase covers Negril to Montego Bay.
According to Minister Pickersgill, segment two of the project from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios has already started and the contractor Jose Catellone, is currently in St. Ann and Trelawny.
