Work has begun on the over $500,000 Geneva Bridge Rehabilitation Project which was contracted to Offshore Civil and Marine Inc.
Contract signing took place between the contractor, Francis Emanuel, and the Ministry of Public Works on April 27th.
This project is one of 10 contracts signed for the south of the island.
“This project is expected to deal with the underpinning of the abutment wall to the old bridge, repairs to the metal bridge deck, rock revetment and bridge levelling. During Erika there was some level of undermining and the bridge is no longer level and a little shaky so they are now creating a bypass before they begin work on the bridge,” she explained.
The Hon Grand Bay MP remains optimistic bearing in mind that the river in that area is flowing heavily following rainfall over the past few days.
She explained that the material to be used for the bypass is a bit lighter than anticipated but the team is already working on a solution.
Minister Charles identified rainfall as the main challenge.
“When it rains, this river flows very heavily. That is one of the challenges they may encounter. Even with what they are doing right now I am still afraid that if the river starts flowing heavily it will affect it like the temporary one after the storm which was washed away during subsequent heavy rains.”
She is relying on prayer and the expertise of the engineers “to make it work.”
The sum of the project exceeds $4m.
These projects are part of the drive to ensure the safety of Dominica’s roads and infrastructure.
