The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG


Tribune Staff Reporter


ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE Fresh Creek Bridge has been condemned after a structural support sank and shifted its weight dangerously, severing Central Andros’ main transport link and disrupting electricity restoration, government services, businesses and access to the airport.

Officials said a temporary bridge identified in New York could take about two months to arrive, leaving residents and workers dependent on boats and a proposed ferry service in the interim.

The closure has already prevented Bahamas Power and Light crews from transporting heavy equipment needed to restore electricity in Cargill Creek and parts of South Andros.

The Ministry of Works and Family Affairs senior engineer Anthony Jaid said a visual assessment yesterday found that an intermediate pier at one of the bridge’s pile caps had sunk, shifting the weight to two external supports.

He said the pile cap had tilted between 20 and 30 degrees, causing three bridge slabs to sink.

“This is a great concern. This is not the way the bridge was designed,” Mr Taylor said. “As a result, we have officially condemned the bridge. We are not allowing vehicular traffic to traverse the bridge at this particular time, and we are in the process of developing temporary solutions to address the matter.”

Central Andros District Administrator Jackson McIntosh said the failure was not unexpected, arguing that the bridge’s deteriorating condition had been apparent for years despite plans under successive administrations to replace it.

“There had been very concrete plans to replace the bridge, not only under this administration but under the former administration,” he said. “However, it never materialized. Mother Nature decided it was going to fast-track dealing with the situation.”

He said there are no plans to repair the existing bridge, which also carries water and electricity infrastructure across Fresh Creek.

Those services will have to be reconfigured, with the water line potentially placed along the seabed, he said.

Mr McIntosh said the existing bridge would be demolished after the necessary process is completed.

A temporary bridge has already been identified in New York, but he estimated that it would take about two months to reach Andros.

He said the government hoped to begin a ferry service today to move people across the creek until vehicular access is restored.

After engineers identified the structural damage, authorities allowed residents and workers two hours to cross before closing the bridge, he said.

BPL said the closure delayed restoration work in Cargill Creek and parts of South Andros because crews could not move the personnel and heavy equipment needed to repair the outage.

The utility explored several routes, including access by sea, but said no suitable vessels were available. It expects the planned ferry service to allow crews to reach the affected areas and continue restoration work.

The closure has also affected employees travelling to the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Centre and residents trying to reach the airport, government offices and businesses on the opposite side of Fresh Creek.

Minister of Works Clay Sweeting said he travelled to the area yesterday morning with Mangrove Cay, Central and South Andros MP Leon Lundy and a technical team after learning of the failure the previous evening.

Mr Sweeting said the government had begun discussions with Acrow Bridge, which previously supplied bridges in Abaco and Eleuthera, about providing a temporary crossing.

Director of Public Works Robert Mouzas said the temporary structure was already part of the broader replacement plan because the new permanent bridge is expected to have two lanes and stand between 16 and 20 feet higher than the existing crossing.

Central Andros Christian Council president Dr Dorinda Dean described the closure as “a great loss, great disappointment, great setback”.

Dr Dean lives in Andros Town but her church is in Calabash Bay on the opposite side of the bridge. She was unable to attend a Ministry of Youth-sponsored workshop at the church, where attendance was also affected by the closure.

She said residents now have to arrange separate taxis on each side of Fresh Creek and cross by small boat, making travel significantly more complicated.

Workers commuting from Cargill Creek, Behring Point and Blanket Sound are also facing difficulty reaching their jobs, she said, while some businesses have been affected.

South Andros resident Julian Gibson said erosion around the bridge’s supports had long caused concern.

“If you see things getting rusty and starting to chip away and starting to fall apart, eventually, with trucks going back and forth, they could collapse,” Mr Gibson said.

He said the bridge was the main route for people travelling between northern and southern Andros and that its closure had restricted access to the airport and other essential services.