Above: a rendering of the bridge
By the Caribbean Journal staff
St Lucia has signed the contract for the new Bois d’Orange Bridge project in the north of the island, with construction to begin soon, the government announced.
The proposed bridge will be an 18-metre single-span composite road bridge. It will initially be configured for two-lane traffic, with the capacity for four lanes.
The bridge was designed by FDL Consult, with a review conducted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
The project will cost a total of $4.11 million USD. It is being funded by the World Bank through the Hurricane Tomas Emergency Recovery Project.
During construction, the bridge will mean the closure of the existing bridge, with traffic utilizing a newly-constructed bypass road.
That will lead to delays; the government said the project needed to begin as soon as possible before the close of the Recovery Project.
The bridge, located in Gros Islet, was destroyed by Hurricane Tomas.