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Operations at Leguan Stelling to recommence by Friday – Public Infrastructure Ministry
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure has advised in a statement released yesterday that the Leguan Stelling, which partially collapsed on Monday, will be back in operation by Friday (December 13) as emergency works have already commenced to renovate the section.
The repairs are underway at the Leguan Stelling
General Manager of Transport and Harbours Department Marcelene Merchant had informed that rehabilitation works on the Stelling commenced days ago, to the tune of $413 million. Works were being done on the Stelling, at another section of the structure, at the time of the partial collapse on Monday, which resulted in a halt of operations in the best interest of the travelling public.
The Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Jaipaul Sharma visited the Stelling yesterday to assess the works which commenced yesterday morning. He told the media representatives, “There was a report yesterday that a section of the Stelling had collapsed. This is not surprising because of the conditions of the Stelling.”
According to him, the contract for the rehabilitation of the Stelling was awarded back in August 2018, but due to a number of hiccups the contractor was mobilized and recommenced works only two months ago.
Minister Sharma added: “This wharf was constructed some 15 to 16 years ago. You can see the force of the tide and in addition to that the deteriorated condition of the beams and piles caused by the salt water and barnacles. These conditions were overwhelmed when a canter that was over laden with paddy traversed the section. It actually drove on the side that was the weakest and that caused the collapse. In collapsing it broke a number of the beams, as a matter of fact all of the beams were broken…”
As a result of the collapse, Minister Sharma explained that the contractor was forced to neglect his works and focus on the section that required immediate attention.
“We had initially said we were going to open up two grids, so if you notice there, those three rows of piles is the grid and two grids is going to be six piles. The extent of the damage is even wider than we thought, so we are now going to open the deckings to have access to the two other grids,” the Minister noted.
He said that the contractor was hoping to wrap up works on that section of the Stelling by tomorrow (Thursday) to resume operations. However, after removing the deck, the damage was beyond expectations. With this in mind, Minister Sharma said he requested that a thorough rehabilitation be done to ensure that when traffic reopens on the Stelling, it is able to withstand the weight.
In total, 156 timber piles will be driven.
Minister Sharma has recommended that provisions be put in place to monitor traffic management and weight restrictions during the period of construction.
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