Government has moved swiftly as promised to come to the assistance of the residents who are now inconvenienced as a result of the collapse of the 1958 built Chapel Bridge, about a month ago.
Some residents came out to witness the first phase of the demolition of the collapsed bridge on Monday, 30 September and expressed happiness that some action has been taken to rectify their problem with the absence of a proper bridge to traverse.
Senior Engineer in the Ministry of Works responsible for roads and bridges Mr. John St Louis, said a temporary acrow-panel bridge will be installed.
“In order to make the area user friendly we had to move on in terms of setting up the acrow panel bridge which is made up of acrow metal, transversal beams and a wooden deck, somewhat similar to the bridge at Bonaire in St Mark”, said Mr. St Louis.
He said sections of the bridge were saved during the demolition to accommodate the temporary bridge which will be longer than the previous 32 feet.
“We did not want to destroy the abutment. We are going to use that section for just the installation of that temporary bridge which will be a single lane and 60 feet long” the Senior Engineer said.
He noted that this is only a temporary measure and a permanent bridge with two lanes and pedestrian walk is earmarked under the St Patrick’s Bridges and Roads Project.
Mr. St Louis said most of the broken elements from the previous bridge along with some large stones will be used as a precautionary measure to protect the structure from the river at the approach areas in the event of bad weather.
A foot path made up of large stones in the river will be used by residents during the construction of the temporary bridge.
