Opening of North Windward bridges pushed back to July
Residents in the North Windward communities will have to face the perilous river crossings for at least another two months, as the opening of the Bailey bridges has been delayed until at least July.
The bridges, which were supposed to open in February, will now be ready one month after the start of the storm season on June 1. The objection to opening is the result of a design flaw.
Residents are now wondering how a design defect, rather than a problem with structural integrity, can keep a bridge from opening.
“This government continues to dupe the people,” one individual informed St Vincent Times. “The government is right to do what they want to Vincentians: they become docile,” a man in his 70s said.
On NBC radio on Wednesday, Montgomery Daniel, MP for North Windward, stated the two Bailey bridges in the area might not open until July.
“I live in Sandy Bay and have to cross the rivers every day.” It is not good for me or anyone else who needs to cross these waterways. I am concerned that the bridges have not yet been opened.”
“The work was done in that the bridges were already established,” Daniel said. “However, there appears to have been some design flaw in that if you enter the Overland Bridge from the north going south, the angle you’re entering is almost at a right angle, and the levels approaching the degree of slope are somewhat high, so that the design flaw needs to be corrected.”
“I must also say because the certification of completion is still pending, the bridges have not yet been handed over to the government, and because a certificate of completion has not been issued, any damage to the bridge will be a further cost to the government.”
The Bailey Bridge in Overland will have a pedestrian cantilevered deck, double lanes, and a length of 30 meters. The Bailey Bridge at Noel will have a cantilevered promenade as well as cross a single road for 30 meters.
Part 2 of the Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project (VEEP) funded the Overland and Noel project, which began in August 2022.
The World Bank (through an IDA credit) and the European Union (via the Caribbean Regional Resilience Building Facility are funding the VEEP.
Safety adjustment needed on Bailey Bridge now set to open in April
