C.E.O. at MIDH Says Belcan Bridge Needs Urgent Replacement
It’s been around for over fifty years through funding provided by a Canadian aid program, and now, the Belcan Bridge has served its time and needs to be replaced. In fact, of the three Belize City crossings over the Haulover Creek, the Belcan is the one that needs the most urgent attention. News Five’s Marion Ali sat down with Chief Engineer Evondale Moody, at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing, who reiterated that, based on recent assessments, the structural integrity of the BelCan Bridge is such that it can no longer sustain any activity, such as parades and the like, that creates vibration. Here’s that story.
Marion Ali, Reporting
It’s not news that the Belcan Bridge – the one that stands at the westernmost crossing of the Haulover Creek in Belize City – needs replacing. The advice was sounded in 2022, when concrete portions of the bridge were seen falling off its base. The bridge has been there since 1969, when funds provided by Canada led to its construction. But since then, the structural integrity of the bridge has deteriorated to a point that any kind of rehabilitation simply would not make sense.
Evondale Moody
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
“As it is right now, it’s very difficult for us to do anything to the structure. Because of the deterioration that is occurring to the substructure – substructure means the piers and the piles that are supporting the bridge deck. From the last evaluation that we did, I think it was shown on your newscast that the piers are spalling off. That means basically the concrete are falling off from the piles itself, which are exposing the reinforcement within those piles. The longer it takes, those concrete will continue to fall off, and then it will just be the reinforcement within those concrete that is holding up the bridge.”
The Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing has been engaging the Ministry of Finance to allocate the estimated seventeen million dollars it will take to build a new bridge at that crossing. Chief Engineer at the MIDH, Evondale Moody, says those discussions are still very much fluid.
Evondale Moody
“We had launched the procurement process for a contractor for that project. However, because of financing not being solidified, we cannot venture into the award of any contract or anything like that at this point in time until we get final approval from the Ministry of Finance. So, at this point in time, the project is basically on hold until we could confirm with the Ministry of Finance where the funding will come from for this project.”
Moody says that in the time being, the ministry has advised that large activities, such as parades, be diverted to the other two bridges.
Evondale Moody
“We were just concerned about the substructure, because no one can see the substructure. If we have any excessive vibration on the structure, and that’s why we have deterred any parade or anything from occurring on the bridge, because if you have that vibration, then definitely that will shake the structure, and then that will put the structure at risk on that structure, because you have the turntable in the middle and the two outside piers, you have two spans coming, one from BelCan from the Civic Center and one from Save U. Those are the first two spans that are resting on those intermediate piers, right? And then one of those ends are resting on the turntable, but if the pier goes, then there’s nothing to support that first approach, and the same thing is happening on the save you side.”
Moody says that when the project is approved for a new bridge to be built at the Belcan crossing, a temporary structure will be put in place to allow pedestrians and cyclists to traverse the crossing. Marion Ali for News Five.
