By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net 

THE Fishing Hole Bridge in Grand Bahama was closed on Wednesday evening due to safety concerns because of hazardous driving conditions experienced and engineering issues in the road construction.

The bridge was closed around 6pm to vehicular traffic and will undergo emergency remediation work over the next two months.

In the meantime, a secondary road beneath the bridge has been prepared and reopened to provide access to motorists travelling to and from west Grand Bahama.

The Tribune contacted Permanent Secretary Luther Smith who confirmed that the Ministry of Works and the GB Port Authority’s City Maintenance of Building and Development Services, had reached an understanding to close the Fishing Hole Bridge after a combination of issues were discovered there.

He said: “There is an immediate oil slick and other environmental hazards, but there is an engineering issue in that the road was covered with concrete rather than an asphalt surface.”

“We will be closing off FHB with effect late afternoon today (Wednesday). The GBPA will provide some improvement to the old access road which is still a secondary road. They will conduct some improvements there so motorists will have access from the east and west through that road.

 “We have an agreement that it (FHB) will close for a period for remediation. It is a joint effort of the MOW and GBPA,” he said.

 Mr Smith expects that remediation work to the FHB will probably take two months.

 In the meantime, the permanent secretary stated that a traffic management plan for the secondary road will be shared and monitored by the police and the MOW office in GB.

 “We are asking motorists to drive with caution on that road because it is not intended for speeding, it is an access road.”

 Mr Smith added that proper signage and notice warning of the closure of the Fishing Hole Bridge will be erected in the area. He stressed that motorists should pay attention to the signage.

 The Fishing Hole Bridge was constructed at a total cost of $9.2m. It spans 900ft across Hawksbill Creek and connects WGB and Freeport. Thousands of commuters traverse daily via the bridge.

Troy McIntosh, deputy director and manager of City Maintenance of Building & Development Services at GBPA, said the GBPA was made aware of safety concerns at FHB on Tuesday.

“What we heard is that persons as they were travelling from west to east and in the area just around the bend they are wiping out.

“Whether it is because of the surface that was put down or oil on the surface, we were not sure what it is. And so, the responsible parties, being the MOW, is responsible for investigating that and telling us what the issue is.

“As the regulators, we must act. And so, communications were made to the MOW of what needs to happen for the safety of motorists traversing the bridge,” he said.

Mr McIntosh stated that the Port Authority was on site and completed preparatory work on the service road/old access road to make it drivable for motorists.

“We need to shut the bridge down so that those things can be done, ….and so persons can be diverted to that road until the MOW can repair the bridge.”

Mr McIntosh indicated that concrete on a road and oil is a safety concern. “Oil and concrete don’t mix. So, if oil is seeping from cars or leaking from whatever vehicle on the road surface and it rains it becomes very slippery,” he explained.

He stated that once MOW established what the issue or concern is, and submit what their remedy is, the GBPA as the regulator would have to approve it.

“If their remedy is XYZ, we look at it and based on our experience we then say, ‘yes, we agree with you’ and you can proceed.”

“And so, in the meantime, the road needs to be closed because any mishap, fender bender, any threat of life is a concern for us. Our concern is that motorists are safe and able to traverse a road that is safe.”

“Until it is fixed it is our intent to shut the road down until the parties who are responsible fix what the concerns are.”

 Mr McIntosh said they expected to be finished with preparatory work on the old road at 2pm but were waiting for MOW to remove several guard rails and six posts at the western end of the service road.

 An official statement issued late Tuesday by the Ministry of Grand Bahama stated: “The Ministry of Grand Bahama, following consultation with the Ministry of Works and Utilities and the Grand Bahama Port Authority and other stakeholders wishes to announce, in the interest of public safety, that the Fishing Hole Causeway will be closed effective 6pm today, 28th December 2022 to allow for emergency engineering remediation to the causeway due to hazardous driving conditions which was experienced during the last five days.

2 Traffic from West Grand Bahama and from Freeport to West Grand Bahama will be diverted through the former roadway linking, West to the City of Freeport. It is expected that the proposed works to the causeway will take place within a period of under two months.

3 Further enquires can be made to the Ministry of Works and Utilities Area Office, Freeport, Grand Bahama. The Ministry of Grand Bahama apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

 The Fishing Hole Bridge was constructed by All Bahamas Construction, which was awarded the contract in 2015. The original cost then was $7.2m, however with the change of scopes, additional funding was required.

 The situation was exacerbated, due to the combination of several events, including but not limited to the delays and devastation caused by the past three major hurricanes, including Matthew in October 2016, Irma in 2017, and most recently Dorian in September 2019.

 Following Hurricane Dorian, the FHB was substantially completed. Even though the category 5 storm did not affect the concrete bridge structure which was a testament to the quality of the works, the approach asphalt roads and side slopes were destroyed.

 As Dorian did not affect the concrete bridge structure, the government decided to replace the asphalt roads with 8” thick reinforced concrete rigid pavement, and the side slopes and shoulders with 6” thick concrete, “making the whole structure more integral and climate resilient for future storm events.”

 The bridge was described as of “modern design, resilient, concrete Trestle Bridge, with a life span of 50 years. It is built 12ft above the mean sea level, and is able to withstand hurricanes up to category 5 intensity.“