MIDH Proposes Temporary Crossing At Joe Taylor Bridge
Not long ago, residents and motorists who travel south had forwarded to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development their concerns over using an alternate route while the Joe Taylor Bridge is being replaced. Today, the Minister of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Julius Espat and a team including C.E.O., Victor Espat and engineers from the Ministry travelled to the location and met with people in the area to hear their concerns and to present to them a new proposal for a replacement structure instead of the original Carib Reserve route as an alternate. This afternoon, the minister told News Five that the consultation was a good one and that the proposal they presented seemed to be accepted by the majority. The temporary structure, he explained to us, will be one that is commonly used for small vehicles, but that bigger buses will have to use the alternate route. The work will carry on for at least twelve months and will include the construction of a new bridge worth two point five million dollars.
On the phone: Julius Espat
On the phone: Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure Development & Housing
“We recently signed a contract to do the Joe Taylor Bridge, and the bridge will be built much higher than the one that’s there right now. The original proposal was for people to go around to an existing roadway called the Carib Reserve area. Since that time, we have been receiving – I wouldn’t say, well, you could call it complaints or concerns from residents in the area. And so I thought it was important that the Chief Engineer, the CEO and myself come personally and to look at the scenarios and listen to the proposals that we have on the table. I met with the existing mayor, I met with the area representative, and one of the chief people that had concerns was Mr Wil Maheia, we met with him also, and we believe that we have a proposal that everybody can be comfortable with. We’re proposing to put in a temporary bridge, similar to what the army uses at times to cross rivers. It’s made up of barges that can go up and down, depending on the tide. And it will be used for small vehicles and traffics, and we will have to inform the Transport Department so that buses and large vehicles go around the Caribbean Reserve as we had originally proposed. So I personally believe the site visit was a very good one, and we also have our engineers from the area accompanying us. We have to listen to the concerns, we have to listen to everybody’s opinion and try to formulate a proposal that satisfies most once it doesn’t affect the structural integrity of the structure and once we can afford it. I think with the proposal we have made, we can achieve both.”
