The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE Ferry Bridge connecting Great and Little Exuma needs to be replaced, the Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs has confirmed after images of its deteriorating condition circulated on social media, although officials have given no timetable for when construction of a new bridge will begin.

The ministry said engineering assessments determined that the bridge requires replacement and that it is among nine priority bridge projects being pursued by the Davis administration.

Its technical team is aware of the bridge’s condition, the ministry said on Tuesday evening, and preliminary designs for its replacement have been completed.

The necessary technical and planning processes for construction are also underway.

However, the ministry did not say when work on the replacement bridge is expected to begin or directly address allegations accompanying a widely circulated video that pieces of concrete fall into the water when heavy trucks cross the structure.

The video appears to show material hanging beneath the bridge, which the accompanying social media post described as exposed steel.

The ministry said engineers would continue monitoring the existing bridge while plans for its replacement advance.

“In the interim, the Ministry’s engineers will continue to monitor the existing structure,” the ministry said, “and advise on any measures necessary to protect the safety of motorists and residents who rely on this critical connection between Great and Little Exuma.”

The ministry said it recognises the importance of the Ferry Bridge to the daily lives and economic activity of Exumians.

Further information will be released as the technical, procurement and implementation arrangements for the project progress, according to the ministry.

Before the statement was issued, Exuma Chief Councillor Glenn Davis told The Tribune that the bridge had previously been assessed by the government and plans were already in place to replace it.

“I don’t know if it’s a danger,” Mr Davis said, “but I know that heavy vehicles or heavy loads shouldn’t cross the bridge.”

He said the government inspected the structure sometime last year and determined that a new bridge should be constructed.

Mr Davis said the existing bridge had been standing for some time and officials had already assessed what work was required.

Exuma resident Cecil Smith also cautioned against determining from the social media video alone that the bridge was unsafe.

“I am not aware of any report by certified government engineers or otherwise that the bridge is unsafe,” Mr Smith said. “However, there have been in the past some restrictions about certain tonnage going across the bridge.”

Mr Smith said he did not know the tonnage limit or whether such restrictions remained in effect.

Speaking before the ministry confirmed that engineering assessments had been conducted, he said qualified government professionals should determine the condition of the structure and that the video by itself did not establish that the bridge was in danger of collapsing.

Another Exuma resident, who asked not to be named, said she believed the video exaggerated the condition of the bridge, although she agreed repairs were needed.

The scrutiny of the Exuma bridge comes just days after the Fresh Creek Bridge in Central Andros was condemned following a structural failure that severed a major transportation link on that island.

On August 5, The Tribune reported that an intermediate pier at one of the Fresh Creek Bridge’s pile caps had sunk, shifting the structure’s weight onto two external supports and causing three bridge slabs to sink. Officials closed the bridge to vehicular traffic and said it would ultimately be demolished rather than repaired.

The closure disrupted access between parts of Central Andros, including travel to the airport, government offices and businesses, and initially hampered Bahamas Power and Light crews trying to move heavy equipment to restore electricity in Cargill Creek and parts of South Andros. Officials said a temporary bridge identified in New York could take about two months to reach Andros.