Four years after the Yallahs bridge was destroyed, it appears that construction could begin on a new structure in a matter of weeks.

Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill said the contract for construction of the bridge is to be signed by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller this month.

He said all the materials for the bridge, which is being constructed under the Mabey Johnson bridge programme, were already in the island and construction was to begin as soon as the contract is signed on April 11.

Figure could change

In 2005, Cabinet had approved $470 million to build the new bridge. But two years later, that figure could change owing to the devaluation of the Jamaican dollar against the major foreign currencies and inflation.

State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, yesterday said he would not reveal how much it would now cost to build the bridge in light of the Prime Minister's signing of the contract next week.

The original bridge was destroyed in October 2002 during heavy rains associated with Hurricane Lili. A 240-foot Bailey bridge was subsequently constructed, but that too was washed away, in May 2003, when heavy rains pelted the island.