Works Ministry intends to bridge north and south sides

If an advertisement in the local papers did not catch your eye, we can say that there is some anticipation over a new proposed bridge that will connect the north and south sides of the commercial city. The ad is from the Ministry of Works and it announces plans for a huge infrastructural project which among other things will alleviate traffic congestion for commuters. At the heart of the project is a bridge that will span approximately seventy feet wide. The structure would be the third bridge running across the Haulover Creek as well as the largest in the city. But first, works will begin with the construction of a road approximately one mile long that will run from the Western Highway’s junction with Fabers Road to the Northern Highway’s junction with Chetumal Street. We contacted the Ministry’s C.E.O., Cadet Henderson for more details and he says they are currently in the planning phase.

Cadet Henderson, C.E.O., Ministry of Works
“Our expectation is to convert Chetumal Street into a boulevard and to install this bridge which, at this stage we only have a concept of the bridge. We expect it to be an operable bridge, meaning a bridge that can allow navigable traffic as necessary by the community. This location will be joined by a new thoroughfare that terminates on the Western Highway at the intersection of Fabers Road.”

Delahnie Bain
“Okay, that’s the road. Apparently too, this road is expected to run through private properties?”

Cadet Henderson
“Yes, yes we’re trying to keep—the corridor will maximize the use of existing road reserves. But it’s inescapable that there are private lots that will have to be acquired. So you may have seen an ad in the newspaper and that is to initiate that stage as a part of our disclaimer for people we may not have been able to contact. People may see it in the newspaper and communicate with us and we appraise them of what to expect. The government is proposing to earmark land there for national sporting events; a stadium as well as a bus terminal. So there’s positive development that will spin off from this corridor that will open.”

The project is a part of the Southside Poverty Alleviation project and will be funded by OPEC and the Government of Belize.