Work Underway On Kintyre Bridge

Preliminary work has started on the construction of a new bridge in the community of Kintyre, Eastern St. Andrew.

It will replace the structure that was destroyed during the passage of Hurricane Sandy on October 24.

State Minister for Transport, Works and Housing, Richard Azan, toured the area on Thursday, where work is underway on a detour road, in the vicinity of the old bridge, which will maintain access for motorists and pedestrians, during the construction phase.

"We are going to remove this (destroyed) structure we have here now, so we have to put in a detour road…before we can start the actual (bridge) work here," Mr. Azan said.

The Kintyre bridge is the central route used by residents of Hope Flats, Cosmo Mews, Clarke Street, St. Joseph's Road, Bedward Pastures and surrounding areas, to get in and out of their areas.

A budget of $100 million has been set aside to carry out the work. Of the total, $65 million will be used for the installation of the new bridge, and the remaining $35 million will be spent for river training and associated roadway works.

Mr. Azan said that the overall construction process is expected to be completed within six months. 

Member of Parliament for St. Andrew Eastern, Andre Hylton, who was also on the tour, said he is "very pleased" that the work has started.

He commended all the relevant stakeholders for listening to the cries of the residents and ensuring that they will have a satisfactory structure and access to their communities.

"As you know, this bridge joins Kintyre with Tavern and people in Kintyre, when there is no way of getting their produce out, their children out, their sick out to the hospitals etcetera, it is very difficult, so this is a very essential bridge and we are very happy that work has in fact started,” he said.

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