Works commence to expand narrow city bridge

Dec 30, 2010 News

The fact that the bridge which connects South and Vlissengen Roads in the city is too narrow and often creates dire congestions for vehicular traffic has caused Government to award a contract for its expansion.
The contract has been awarded to Errol Cush, of E. Cush Contracting Service, who could not reveal yesterday the exact cost of the widened bridge. This, he attributed to the fact that his company has had to redesign the current structure, which according to the project specification, must be widened by some 20 feet.

The cofferdam in the making yesterday

Cush however, noted that the cost of the bridge is included in a fixed multi-aspect project cost valued at $84M, which includes the construction of pavements along Vlissengen Road in the vicinity of Sandy Babb Street, Thomas Road and Lamaha Street.
Yesterday’s preparations for the construction of the bridge commenced with the erection of a cofferdam in the South Road canal, which according to Cush, is intended to keep out water from the work area when the actual construction of the bridge commences.
A cofferdam (also called coffer) is an enclosure within a water environment constructed to allow water to be pumped out to create a dry work environment.
Commonly used for oil rig construction and repair, bridge and dam work, the cofferdam is usually a welded steel structure that is temporary and is typically dismantled after work is completed. In this case the cofferdam is being designed with wooden piles.
Cush said that this step is especially crucial as work men will have to go approximately six feet down or even more, depending on the soil condition, to aid the construction process. “Once we get this part completed (construction of the coffer dam) we will start the bridge…
The area down here is very narrow and it gets very congested sometimes so maybe that is why Government has decided to have it extended,” Cush speculated yesterday.
It is his expectation that the bridge will be completed within a six-week timeframe once fair weather conditions prevail.
The existing bridge is situated at a junction, which facilitates stoplights that guide the flow of traffic south, north and east of it. And due to the narrow design of the infrastructure a daunting dilemma is experienced by motorists when there is a traffic build-up in the vicinity of the stoplights, amplifying the ever-growing need for the expansion of the structure.

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