G.O.B. Inaugurates Roaring Creek Bridge
Traffic death is among the top five killers in Belize, and the Government of Belize is spending millions of dollars on improving highways. Through a grant from the European Union and a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank, approximately sixty-five million dollars have been invested in the upgrade of the George Price Highway and the construction of the Roaring Creek Bridge. On Monday, an official inauguration took place.
Duane Moody, Reporting
It started as a project under the former administration, but the Briceño administration officially inaugurated the Roaring Creek Bridge. Just prior to the pandemic, the west was cut off from the rest of the country by flooding and this new bridge provides a more resilient gateway to western Belize.
John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“We all recognise that because of climate change and we have flash flooding, we have excessive rains that the Roaring Creek Bridge used to flood from time to time. I know people not living in this area, like us in the north, it would be something unthinkable, but it happens.”
The construction of the bridge was part of the bigger George Price Highway Rehabilitation Project, which has so far also seen improvements to thirty-two point five kilometres of the George Price Highway from Roaring Creek through to Santa Elena. In other phases of the project, works will be done from Belmopan to Belize City and then from San Ignacio to Benque Viejo del Carmen.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Since we’ve done from here all the way to San Ignacio, now we need to finish from San Ignacio to Benque Viejo. That’s a part of the plan; we are about to start work on that one. But at the same time we are starting to do a project development to upgrade the highway from here to Belize City. Now I know that the previous government has spent monies on this highway, but there are a lot of deficiencies and it is something that has to be addressed. So we want to look at that and see how we can upgrade it and improve the safety of that highway for our citizens. Whenever we do any kind of infrastructure development, it is just not to build a road or just to build a bridge because we want to build a bridge, but simply because it has to do about people. How is it going to serve the people better? How is it going to assist in growing the economy, creating jobs, maintaining that connectivity [and] making the highway safer.”
The project was funded by the Government of Belize, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the European Union through the Caribbean Investment Facility. More than two hundred men and women were employed.
Ramiro López Ghio
Ramiro López Ghio, Country Representative, Inter-American Development Bank
“This bridge and in particular this road, the George Price Highway is key for the connectivity of the country – for export and to connect people around the country. Also, the will to develop infrastructure in a stable and resilient way. This is the kind of infrastructure that this country needs in order to develop.”
The project will connect not only people, but will facilitate trade.
Marianne Van Steen
Marianne Van Steen, E.U. Ambassador to Belize
“This project is vital for the regional physical integration and it is vital for trade. It is vital for the people who live in the villages close to the highway. We know that many are travelling from Belmopan to the Belize City to San Ignacio – it is all about connecting people. It is also vital for agriculture, it is vital for tourism; trade I have mentioned, but in particular now that the government is also trying to expand the partial scope agreement on trade with Guatemala, it will prove extremely useful for the further development of the country.”
The E.U. Ambassador says that while it is more resilient against natural disasters, the Roaring Creek Bridge has strengthened the partnership between the Government of Belize, the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Union. Duane Moody for News Five.
