Infrastructure Minister Hon. Stephenson King allays the fears of the public, informing those concerned that the bridge poses no present threat. The Ministry of Infrastructure, he says, will continue to do maintenance works on the bridge in order to keep it safe for motorists in the long run.

“Through our road maintenance programme, we detected some time ago that there was some movement on that bridge. We have gone out and got a contractor who will be doing some intermediary measures as we prepare for the reconstruction of the Julian R Hunte Highway. Of course, that is being funded by the Kuwaiti government,” King told members of the press.

King says the government has already identified a contractor who will undertake the project. “We, only last week, concluded negotiations with the selected contractor and the contractor will engage in some remedial measures on the bridge, costing less than $500,000. We are on the ball, we are putting all measures in place. We are looking at a new bridge, if it calls for that down the road.”

King assures the public that the bridge is safe. “In the meantime, there is no extreme danger on the bridge - the bridge is not a suspended bridge. It is a bridge that is accommodated by two Armco pipes - these are huge cylindrical pipes designed for highways.”

The Julian R. Hunte Highway Reconstruction project runs from the Choc Bridge to Gros Islet. In 2016, a Kuwaiti-negotiated loan that would have seen the reconstruction of the highway, the back roads and feeder roads was discontinued by the Allen Chastanet Government and replaced by a direct award to Fresh Start. This JRH reconstruction project is one of the many projects the government is currently working on, including the Millennium Highway Reconstruction Project and the larger West Coast Road reconstruction project. The government has indicated that 2024 will be the Year of Infrastructure.