Mahdia residents frustrated with slow pace to rebuild Tiger Creek Bridge

Residents in Mahdia, Region Eight are frustrated with the slothful pace for the re-construction of the Tiger Creek Bridge, which collapsed five weeks ago.

The residents were told that the bridge will be fixed by December 02, but now the contractor, CK Construction and Transportation Services, is seeking an extension to December 16. The News Room understands that works were delayed due to the rainy weather.

Businessman, Rishi Badrinauth said his truck with goods, has been stranded on the northern side of the bridge for two days now along with a few minibuses.

The businessman explained that a temporary bypass was put in place but this too has deteriorated as a result of heavy rainfall.

“…the original thing was supposed to be fixing but it is just four posts drive down in the creek at the moment nothing else ain’t do yet,” the businessman said.

The businessman is calling on the authorities to intervene.

The Tiger Creek Bridge is the main entrance into Mahdia; an alternate route into the town is 28 kilometres (17 miles) through the Konawaruk Road.

Regional Engineer, Wendell St Pierre, when contacted by the News Room, revealed that rain is also causing a delay in procuring materials for the bridge.

“If there is rain, we have an issue harvesting logs, it’s a very steep hill so even if a truck comes with the material, it cannot come down the hill because it will slide, so it is not only a case where the rain stops the physical work but the machines cannot work in that weather as well.

“We are currently seeking an extension to the 16 of December because we had a lot of rain that delayed the work,” the engineer explained.

Meanwhile, the engineer said that the contractor is also mandated to provide assistance to commuters, but according to residents, they have had to pay to get their vehicles across the bridge.

“The contractor is tasked to assist commuters with getting their vehicles up the hill; we have a tractor that is used to tow the light weight vehicle like cars and buses and the excavator is used to assist the trucks and oil tanks,” the engineer said.

The bridge collapsed on November 03 while a truck was crossing.