Santa Familia Bridge Nears Completion

Chief Engineer Evondale Moody also provided an update on the long-anticipated Santa Familia Bridge project in the Cayo District.  As previously reported, the old Haulover Bridge structure was dismantled and transported inland where it is now being repurposed for use in Santa Familia Village. The project is expected to provide residents with a more reliable crossing and improve connectivity for communities in the area.  According to Moody, work on the bridge has been progressing steadily, with teams currently focused on installation and final structural preparations. He indicated that once weather conditions remain favorable and construction continues on schedule, the bridge should be completed within the next few months.

Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH: “It took us some time but we had to dismantle it in sections.  And then we transported to Cayo Steel for us, for it to be rehabilitated. And so it was cleaned, it was repaired, it was sandblasted and repainted. So we’re using the old superstructure, which is just the steel structure that was the Haulover Bridge itself. We had to build a new substructure at Santa Familia which includes the two new abutments and also two piers in the river that will support the superstructure that we are repurposing. So we have had some delays because of the pilling operation that has to occur in the river. However, the substructure has been completed. So both abutments and both piers are completed. The contractor is now transporting the superstructure from Georgeville to Santa Familia whereby he has installed one section so far and he’s working on forming the deck itself for the bridge. We still have three more sections that need to be installed. They have already been sandblasted and cleaned and repainted and two of those sections has already been transported to Santa Familia with one more section that needs to be transported from Georgeville to Santa Familia. We expect that this project will be completed we would say by the end of May early July based on the current contractors’ timeline. And once that is held then we expect that we would be able to open that bridge sometime in July for the public to utilize. But so far, it has been going quite good we’ve had as I said some delays, but we’re working to try and see best we could minimize that.”

Moody says the ministry is targeting July of this year for the official inauguration of the bridge.