Permanent bridges being designed for North Windward-Finance Minister

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Camillo Gonsalves, has declared that the tough times endured at the river crossings at Overland and Noel are now problems of the past.

Minister Gonsalves was among speakers at the official opening of the two Bailey Bridges on Thursday, May 11.

“When the river comes down, never again will people be stuck on either side of the river,” the minister said.

“Never again! because after this temporary bridge, is a permanent bridge. The same thing in Noel. Never again will somebody be on this side talking to somebody on that side.”

Minister Gonsalves said at the ceremony which was held in Overland.

Recalling the hardships endured by commuters in North Windward prior to the installation of the two Bailey bridges, Minister Gonsalves added, “Never again will people from Kingstown run up here with they phone to film something to put on social media and say ‘look, man trapped here so or man trapped there so’.”

Prior to the installation of the bridges at Noel and Overland, commuters spent hours waiting at these river crossings whenever it rained heavily.

The sight of people and vehicles stuck on either side of the rivers was often a photo opportunity for many social media users.

In his address, the Finance Minister reminded the gathering that when the volcano erupted explosively in April 2021, the people in North Windward felt the adverse effects.

Although they were evacuated out of the red zone, the impact was evident on homes, schools farms and shops in the area.

“In the immediate aftermath of the eruption, what we needed was vision,” the Finance Minister said.

While there were people without vision who had lots of ideas, Minister Gonsalves said it was Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel, who saw the need for the bridges, and he articulated that need to Cabinet.

“After we got the vision for the bridges, we got the vision to assist the people who had been impacted and displaced by the volcano,” the Minister said.

“Without the vision, not only do the people perish, but nothing gets done.”

The bridges were obtained through funding from the World Bank’s Volcano Eruption Emergency Project (VEEP).

The VEEP project also provided income support to residents and farmers.

“We understood what was needed. That is when the Prime Minister contacted the World Bank.”

While the Bailey bridges could last up to 50 years, Minister Gonsalves assured residents of North Windward that “we not leaving them here for 50 years.”

He said a company in Trinidad is already working on the design for three permanent bridges for North Windward.

Apart from replacing the Bailey bridges at Overland and Noel, a permanent bridge is also to be put in place at London.

Minister Gonsalves promised that when the designs are completed, the Bailey bridges will be replaced.

He said the bridges are “part of a package of initiative of over US$40 million, designed to lift up the people of this community and put St Vincent and the Grenadines back on the path to progress”.

Speaking about the vulnerability of the country and the need for resilience, Minister Gonsalves said the test of resilience lies in how quickly one is able to bounce back and get back on one’s feet.

“When we build back, we build back better than before.”

In thanking the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for the vision, the Finance Minister said “ we will always be in your corner to help you mitigate the vulnerabilities and help make St Vincent and the Grenadines more resilient.”

Project Engineer of VEEP, Nerissa Fergus said the bridge at Noel is 30 meters in length; it was done by K-electric.

That bridge is single lane; while the one at overland is a two lane, 30 meters bridge with a pedestrian walkway.

The bridge at Overland was done by the firm Sea Operators SVG.