WORK HAS not yet started on a section of the Sandy Gully bridge in the vicinity of Riverton Meadows on Spanish Town Road. Construction of a permanent replacement bridge was slated to begin two weeks after the April closure of the structurally unsound bridge.
However, according to Vando Palmer, Communications Manager at the National Works Agency (NWA), the schedule had to be pushed back because of, among other problems, a pipeline attached to the bridge trunk by the National Water Commission (NWC). "If we went ahead and demolished the bridge, we would have cut off some of the water supply to Kingston," Mr. Palmer told The Gleaner on Wednesday night.
PROPERLY ASSESS
Another problem that had hampered the planned work on the Bailey bridge was the difficulty encountered in trying to determine whether or not the bridge's abutments were "made on piles". "We had to locate persons who were involved in the building of the bridge," Mr. Palmer said. He further explained that it was necessary to determine exactly how the bridge was constructed in order to properly assess and decide on the next course of action. "We are considering improving the bridge. We are looking into the possibility of widening it to accommodate three lanes," Mr. Palmer said.
He said the NWA is now working with the NWC on ensuring the pipes are safely moved before any further action is taken.
