Shaw

RESIDENTS OF Rio Grande Valley in Portland will soon breathe a sigh of relief as a new bridge is to be constructed to replace the Alligator Church Bridge, which has exhausted its design life.

The Alligator Church Bridge, which has been closed several times to vehicular traffic in recent years, is the only access route into the adjoining farming communities of Bellevue, Comfort Castle, Mill Bank and Moore Town.

Communications manager of the National Works Agency, Stephen Shaw, explained that construction of a new bridge will begin in six to eight weeks.

"The new con-struction will take place in the general area or in the vicinity of the existing structure," he said.

"The existing structure will still be used during the construction of the new bridge. The old bridge has now reached the end of its design life, and we have already engaged the services of a contractor, R.M. Murray, who is already onboard and is also currently constructing several bridges islandwide."

Overnight alert

Shaw explained that repair work was done on the existing Alligator Church Bridge recently, and that additional repairs will be done to further strengthen its structure to adequately accommodate vehicular traffic during construction.

"We will have to be strident in our position as it relates to the prescribed weight limit of vehicles accessing the bridge," he said.

"We do not want a repeat situation like what occurred on the Dry River Bridge, which collapsed under the weight of an overladen truck. Therefore, motorists, especially truck operators, and other heavy-duty equipment operators, have to be mindful of the weight limit."

The Alligator Church Bridge was built in the late 1940s and has survived a series of hurricanes, including Gilbert in 1988 and Ivan in 2004. It has also survived the onslaughts of frequent torrential rainfall in the upper Rio Grande Valley and heavy battering from the Rio Grande itself, which often breaches its banks.

A view of the Alligator Church Bridge in Portland on July 6, 2005. Construction of an alternative bridge will begin in six to eight weeks. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer