The Lucaya Service Company Limited (LUSCO) holds the safety of the motoring and boating community of paramount importance and is taking necessary and decisive action to ensure public safety.
Following a recent independent assessment, they were made aware of defects to the above deck pavement and concrete slabs on the underside of the bridge. An initial assessment was conducted by the Building and Development Services Department (BDS) of The Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited and out of an abundance of caution, the western half of the bridge will be closed to swiftly facilitate the necessary repairs.
The eastern half of the bridge will be converted to a dual carriageway to allow the public to safely traverse while they immediately begin the remediation process. We have already conducted the initial inspection. An independent engineering firm will be engaged within two weeks to prepare the scope of work, design and finalize the repair plan and timeline. It is anticipated that repairs will commence within 4 to 6 weeks with the duration to be determined pending the scope of the work.
Communication with Tamarind Development is ongoing , to which they share responsibility for the bridge and will be working together to facilitate the repairs. They are engaging key stakeholders and have met with local government representatives and the Smiths Point Community. There is also a request for safety reasons that the boating community not utilize the waterway under the bridge to travel from east to west within the canal system. Boaters in the Fortune Bay area can exit the Fortune Bay Canal and navigate along the south shore of the island to the Bell Channel Bay entrance and vice versa until repairs have been completed.
LUSCO understands and apologizes for any frustration it may cause by the western half closure and have taken every measure to minimize the inconvenience to the public. LUSCO commits to having regular community updates as it relates to the progress of repairs. Please exercise caution and drive responsibly while accessing the bridge to ensure the safety of motorists and workers
