BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE government is committed to fixing the structural issues at Fishing Hole Road in Freeport, according to a Minnis administration official.

Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson made the comments at a press conference on Wednesday, after Fishing Hole Road was underwater that morning, causing long traffic delays for commuters from West Grand Bahama to Freeport.

Motorists were stuck and could not pass as rising sea water from Hawksbill Creek overflowed onto the causeway during inclement weather and rough sea conditions.

Mr Thompson said the Fishing Hole Road bridge has been in the process of construction since 2015, and was actually completed in September 2019 before Hurricane Dorian.

He said that prior to the storm, the government was planning on opening the FHR causeway, but after the storm it had to be assessed by structural engineers.

According to Mr Thompson, engineers had determined that the structure was in pretty good shape with no structural damage, however, the approach to the bridge had suffered severe damage when the asphalt to the approach was washed away during the storm.

"We know there has been a delay in the repair, but one of the things we have to do is when we look at repairing facilities we have to look at repairing them to be more resilient as further storms come," he explained.

Mr Thompson stated that the Ministry of Works did not just want to replace what was there, but rather wanted to use the opportunity to assess it and see what the most resilient process would be, and then make a determination on how to move forward.

"The (Ministry of Works) has made a determination on what can be done to make that approach more resilient to storms and the government has already approved the process to make that approach far more resilient. So relief is on the way for persons who have to traverse the FHR bridge.

"We did not want to just rebuild what was there, but having had the ultimate test of Dorian, we can look back and see what can be done to improve on what was there before," Mr Thompson said.

The government, he said, has approved the repair and the adjustments to ensure the bridge is more resilient to storms.

"The process is moving ahead quickly and the Ministry of Works has presented proposals and a contractor has been chosen and the project approved. The next step is to mobilise the project, and we expect repair to start quickly," he said.