YALLAHS RIVER BRIDGE CONTRACT SIGNED

Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller signs contracts for the construction of the Yallahs Bridge. Others signing are from left to right: Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alwin Hales; Minister of State, Mr. Richard Azan; Minister Robert Pickersgill; Minister of State, Dr. Fenton Ferguson. Standing are: Mr. Milton Hodelin (l), CEO, NWA and Mr. Stephen Shaw, Manager, Communications and Customer Relations, NWA.

Contracts for the construction of the Yallahs Bridge in St. Thomas were signed on Wednesday, April 11 at the Office of the Prime Minister. Participating in the Contract signing were: Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, Minister Robert Pickersgill, Minister Fenton Ferguson, Minister Richard Azan, Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alwin Hales, CEO, National Works Agency, Mr. Milton Hodelin, MP for the area in which the bridge will be constructed, Mr. James Robertson, Mayor of Morant Bay, Ms. Joan Spencer and representatives of the contractors, Mr. Peter Atkin and Mr. Troels Rasmussen.

The contract for the bridge is worth $402.7M and is jointly funded by GOJ and the Export Credit Guarantee Department of the Government of the United Kingdom. A consortium comprising Mabey and Johnson, partnering with E. Pihl and Sons will be responsible for the execution of the contractual arrangements.

The bridge will span over 100 metres and will have a minimum life span of seventy years. It is being built to withstand the severe weather conditions. It is expected to be completed over a two year period under Phase 11 of the Mabey and Johnson Priority Bridge Programme. All necessary protective measures will be taken to satisfy critical safety factors in the design and construction of the structure. In particular, attention has been given to putting in place extensive protective and river training work to keep the river to its existing channel.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller noted that the signing of the contract for the construction of the bridge was a critical step in the pathway to accelerated progress.

"Without investment in first class infrastructure like this new bridge, national development will be severely hampered," she said.

As a corollary to the construction of the bridge, important river training works will be taking place in the Yallahs area. Some $25M will be spent to desilt the channel upstream from the Easington Bridge and downstream as far as the ford. The NWA is also in the process of securing additional funds to carry out further work to protect the banks of the river.