photos in iQue

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie signed a $6.5 million contract on Friday for a new causeway to be built at the Fishing Hole Road (FHR) to end years of flooding caused by tidal surges which have prevented access to West Grand Bahama.

All Bahamas Construction has been awarded the contract - worth $6,533,585 - for the road project, which is expected to be completed in 61 weeks.

A large gathering, including executives of the Grand Bahama Port Authority, turned out for the historic contract signing ceremony at 10am held at a vacant site just west of the causeway.

Declaring construction of the new road officially open, Mr Christie noted that he expects the project to be finished by the end of January 2017. “When the Minister for GB (Michael Darville) dedicated himself to addressing this issue I was very pleased, and I congratulate him for his dedicated efforts and being resolute and determined that this day would come,” he said.

Prime Minister Christie recalled coming to Grand Bahama and visiting the FHR during the aftermath of Hurricane Frances. “I had a stroke just before Hurricane Frances and the doctors did not want me to come out, and I came out and I walked through the affected area … I saw how this road and how it was rendered useless and I heard about how people, two I think, lost their lives and it never left me. I knew in our first term that Bradley Roberts had gone to some extent to design a causeway in North Eleuthera , the Glass Window Bridge, and a causeway or bridge at FHR,” he said.

Mr Christie acknowledged Ivory and Robert Tinker, the daughter and son of Bobby Tinker, who reflected on the tragedy at FHR when their father lost his life during Hurricane Frances. Mr Tinker, an electrician, was swept away while attempting to cross the causeway to get home to his family during the storm. He had gone into Eight Mile Rock to assist with preparation for the storm, but on his way back to Freeport, FHR was already underwater. He tried to swim across, but didn’t make it.

Mr Christie said Friday’s signing “is a very important one for the people of this island. This signing for a new causeway will bring the connectivity between Freeport and the West into actualisation, and never let again as far as humanely possible anyone else suffer as these two we have heard here, walk to a podium to speak about their Dad; a Daddy who was going home to try and take care of them because of the implications of a hurricane and lost his life; a Daddy who was not going to be there for graduation.”

Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said for many years and for many political terms successive governments have known the need to find a solution for the FHR. “That represented great travail for people of Grand Bahama … and this area has been a priority issue for my ministry dating as far back as the 90’s,” he said.

The issue of flooding at FHR was first raised by young civic activist Caleb Outten, of Eight Mile Rock, who started the PUMP organisation and initiated many public protests and town meetings about the flooding problem at Hawksbill Creek. Mr Outten called on the government and the Grand Bahama Port Authority to build a bridge, after bringing in engineers from the US to access to the area. Both the Free National Movement and Progressive Liberal Party administrations had promised to address the issue.

Mr Davis, who is also Minister of Public Works, explained that due to climate change a supposed solution plan that was determined in 2004 had to be abandoned because water levels rose double the height of what was proposed.

An engineering firm, he said, was contacted to address the challenges FHR posed. “We wanted to have something that would withstand normal to extreme conditions, with less impact on the community of Queen’s Cove, and something that would provide for environmental preservation and restoration of communication between Hawksbill Creek and Freeport Harbour,” Mr Davis said.

He noted that studies and recommendations suggested that the causeway should be elevated or raised between ten to 12 feet.

According to Mr Davis, three contractors on Grand Bahama - Waugh Construction, All Bahamas Construction and Smith Construction - were invited to participate in the tender exercise and to provide best technical solution for new FHR causeway. In the evaluation process, Mr Davis said All Bahamas Construction won. “They have met the competency, personnel and resources required and was awarded a contract of $6,533,585.89 inclusive of VAT,” he added.

He said that the duration of the project is 61 weeks. “What we do here today is a component for a larger plan for Grand Bahama. After completion, it would be part of a robust package of capital investment projects we promised for this island,” he said. As was noted by the Minister for GB we are proud to say this is a promised fulfilled,” he said.