Hawkesworth To Be Closed for Six Months for Repairs

But the Hawkesworth Bridge that connects San Ignacio and Santa Elena can serve the public for another twenty-five years, according to Moody. But that will only be after the one-lane suspension bridge undergoes repairs. The Hawkesworth, which has been around since 1949, needs to undergo extensive work that will take six months. But Moody assures the public that the new bridge, which is a two-lane structure, is more than adequate to handle the traffic in the twin towns until the bridge is reopened again.

 

Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH

“What the Ministry of Infrastructure did a few months ago was that we did an assessment of the existing Hawksworth bridge because we knew that  It needed some kind of routine and periodic maintenance. And so what we did, we engaged a local consultant, Chias Engineering, for them to do an inspection and assessment of the bridge structure. As you’re aware, that bridge was  opened, I think, in 1949. And so the structure itself is approximately 75 years old.  Over time, the ministry has executed some repairs to the structure itself, mainly to the deck. However, at this point in time, we need to look at the main structure of,  the bridge itself, which is the suspension structure, the cables, we have to look at the  primary and secondary girders, we have to look at the deck for the vehicular traffic, and also the deck for the pedestrians.  Based on the assessment that was carried out  is recommended that we did some immediate. Periodic and maintenance works on that structure because we had some elements that are in need of critical maintenance. And so the idea was that we engage a contractor to do those works. So we went through a procurement process for us to engage a contractor. And that contractor that will be doing the works is Kyosteel Limited, and they will be supervised by Chia’s Engineering and also the MIDH. We have commenced some of those works under the bridge. However, it will take us more time for us to do the main and critical works that needs to be addressed on the suspension bridge itself. So in an effort to do those works and for safety as well  we believe it was important for us to close the bridge structure for that duration, which is approximately six months,  because they will be doing some sandblasting and other activities on the Structure where you will have workers working at high elevation, and so it’s important for us to keep your safety in mind and the safety of the motor in public as well that utilizes the bridge. And so in an effort to do that, the ministry thought it was critically important for us to close the structure, do those remedial works that needs to be done, and then reopen the structure once we’re completed.”