Prime Minister Commissions Rehabilitated Bridge On Liguanea Avenue

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, commissioned a rehabilitated bridge along Liguanea Avenue in St. Andrew on July 9, which will benefit thousands of citizens who use the thoroughfare daily.

The structure, which was renovated at a cost of $26.5 million, replaces an outdated bridge that had narrow lanes for drivers and was not safe for pedestrians to cross.

Mr. Holness said the bridge was completed one month earlier than its projected time and was carried out in three months.

“The new structure has two wider lanes of about 12 feet each. Before, they were probably nine [feet], which would be very small. It has two decently sized sidewalks that would be about four feet on average on both sides. It is done with a reinforced wall, a small wall, not what was there before. What was there before was metal. It looked quite dangerous to me,” the Prime Minister said.

He pointed out that new curbs and sidewalk extensions have been added to the bridge, and the drains have been improved as well.

“The Government of Jamaica is committed to building a new Jamaica, and a part of that is building the bridge to the future,” Mr. Holness said.

“This bridge represents the future. When I used to live in this area, this bridge was a hazard. That’s how I would describe it. It was very narrow and particularly precipitous if you’re coming down [the road] and all of a sudden, you’re faced with this very narrow pathway, and you have to be a skilled driver to negotiate it. It didn’t make much provision for pedestrian traffic and if you had a very heavy shower of rain, there was a possibility of flooding,” he added.

He said with the new repairs, drivers can drive in their ordinary driving patterns without facing the hazard of the previous state of this public infrastructure.

Mr. Holness said improvement of the road and the bridge will result in other developments and an increase in surrounding property values.