New date announced for installation of Bailey bridges

A number of Bailey bridges that will be placed across the rivers at Overland and Noel will be installed around September this year.

Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves spoke about this revised deadline on NBC Radio on Wednesday June 1.The prime minister said the Cabinet Committee on the Economy met on Tuesday, May 31 to discuss matters of national preparedness for the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season which began on June 1.

Gonsalves admitted that the rivers at Overland and Noel have “been causing difficulties in recent times”, but that the government plans to put Bailey bridges across these rivers,”while we plan for the big concrete bridges”.

One Bailey bridge was sourced locally and the other will come from St Lucia; both being installed, “hopefully sometime in the month of September.”

The Overland and Noel rivers in the North Windward constituency have been posing problems for commuters whenever it rains.

People have been stranded on both sides of these rivers due to the heavy flow of water bearing debris from upstream, remnants of the volcanic eruptions.

In February this year, Parliamentary Representative for the Constituency, Montgomery Daniel said that the bridges would be in place by “the end of July/August.

At that time, Minister Daniel had also promised that one of these bridges would be placed over the river at London.