MIDH Asks River Valley Villagers for “Some Patience” for 14 More Months

Drivers crossing the Sebastian and Bermuda Landing bridges in the Belize River Valley have been reduced to single-lane traffic since March. Residents have grown their demand to know why progress looks so slow. Chief Engineer Evondale Moody of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development told News 5 the work is on track but “still has a long time to go”.

Moody said the ministry is rehabilitating both structures, each built as two parallel bridges carrying separate lanes. “We have asked the contractor to work on one side at a time, hence one side has been removed from each bridge structure, while he does the sandblasting and the maintenance work on each one,” Moody said.

The project is expected to run 18 months from its March start. “We still have a long time to go to rehabilitate those structures,” Moody said. “Those structures have been there for quite a long time and no maintenance has been done, or very little…  And so we just asked the public’s patience with us.”

He said each side must be fully stripped down before it reopens. “We have liaised with these villages with our personnel that we have on site to inform them of the scope of work. The area rep is also aware of the scope of works for that area.”

“We just asked for their indulgence to just bear with us as we rehabilitate those structures,” Moody reiterated.

The plan, he says, is to finish one side, shift traffic onto it, then begin work on the remaining side. The project also includes river erosion protection after the Sebastian Bridge’s approach was undermined by flooding last year, which forced a closure.

“We’re trying to do the best that we can with the resources we have available,” Moody said.