Old Iron Bridge Falling Down, Spanish Town St. Catherine - Jamaica Talk

Princessblack · #1 (**permalink**) 10-11-2004, 03:32 PM

'Old Iron Bridge could come tumbling down'
published: Monday | October 11, 2004

The Old Iron Bridge in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, before it was severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan. - File

JAMAICA STANDS to lose one of its most historic and treasured sites, the Old Iron Bridge in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, which is said to be in real bad shape and could "collapse at anytime."

Susanne Lyon, executive director of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), said the bridge was extensively battered by Hurricane Ivan, resulting in its support structures being left severely weakened.

SIGNIFICANT CONCERN

"At this time it is causing significant concern. There was a scouring of the bridge on the left side. There has been soil erosion at the base of the bridge and one of the arches has collapsed so the abutment has been weakened. Consequently, the bridge is now in danger of collapsing," Ms. Lyon told The Gleaner.

She said the structural engineer and the Iron Bridge Foundation were considering some options either demolish the bridge or rebuild from the bottom up.

IMMINENT DANGER

Ms. Lyon was, however, non-committal as to which direction to take, pointing out that if the latter option is taken, the bridge could collapse while being worked on. "All options pose danger to life and limb," she noted.

However, Kabel Williams, chairman of the Iron Bridge Foundation, said his organisation had already ruled out the possibility of doing away with the bridge. "You can't demolish something like that demolishing is definitely out of the question. We will do whatever is necessary to preserve it," he said.

Mr. Williams said the damage caused by the hurricane could have been avoided if the foundation had been able to work on the bridge. "We were unable to do the work because of the violence in Spanish Town. We had our people who would have started the work. It is difficult for you to go out there and start work where gunmen are," he said.

RECEIVE SOME FUNDS

Mr. Williams said the foundation has been able to secure $3 million to do repairs to the bridge but noted that it falls well short of the required amount.

According to Mr. Williams, the response from corporate Jamaica to restore the bridge has been poor, especially from the business community in Spanish Town. "We sent out an appeal to the business sector but got no response," he said. He said the foundation was only able get a contribution of $100,000 from Kingston Wharf. - DR

Blingee$ha · #2 (**permalink**) 10-11-2004, 03:43 PM

Hopefully they get the money to look after the bridge especially because it's a landmark. I think you'll find however, that people's priorities may be elsewhere right now. Maybe they'll get some money, but maybe the communty could find a way to rise money for it.

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