Effective Monday, June 06, 2011, the Cassia Park Ford in St. Andrew will be closed for twelve months. Closure of the Ford is to facilitate its replacement with a steel girder bridge.
Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the National Works Agency Stephen Shaw says the Ford is being replaced in order to make the corridor more reliable for use in all weather. Motorists and pedestrians have over the years had their lives at risk while using the roadway when the Ford is flooded.
Mr. Shaw says the new bridge will span 38 metres with reinforced concrete foundations on steel piles and sidewalks with protective rails. He says the roadway will be realigned to facilitate construction of the bridge, the approaches paved with Asphaltic Concrete and the floors of the waterway rehabilitated.
The alternative route during the period of closure, travelling in the direction of Half Way Tree, is along Red Hills Road or via Eastwood Park Gardens. The reverse obtains travelling from the direction of Half Way Tree in the direction of Washington Boulevard or Meadowbrook.
The Cassia Park Bridge is one of several that are being constructed under the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme and is expected to cost $151million.
