Citywide Transformation Plan Unveiled at Poorly Attended Consultation

Only a small crowd showed up Tuesday night, but the questions were anything but small. Fewer than a hundred Belize City residents attended the public consultation on massive infrastructure projects that are set to disrupt traffic for years, but those who came made their voices heard. Government officials laid out timelines for the George Price Highway upgrades and the replacement of the Swing Bridge and BelCan Bridge. But the real headline came from the audience, as frustrated residents pressed for straight answers on congestion, construction hours, river access, and why all this work is happening at the same time. News Five’s Shane Williams has the story.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting

Belize City is on the brink of a massive infrastructure transformation. At Tuesday night’s community consultation, residents got an update on Lot One of the Philip Goldson Highway upgrades, along with plans to finally replace the aging Swing Bridge and BelCan Bridge. Mayor Bernard Wagner opened the meeting with a call for patience and unity, urging Belize City residents to stick together as the major works get underway.

 

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“Let us approach this moment not with frustration but with unity, not with division but with cooperation, not with fear but with preparation. Together we will navigate. Together we will manage the adjustments. And together we will emerge with a new modern BelCan Bridge, a new modern Swing Bridge and a safer George Price Highway.”

 

Lot One of the highway project is being funded by the Caribbean Development Bank and includes significant drainage upgrades, a key feature meant to finally address persistent flooding near the Pound Yard Bridge. Project Engineer Michelan Gilharry says this phase of the project is scheduled for completion on April tenth, 2029.

 

Michelan Gilharry, Project Engineer, MIDH

“This project also has a section from the main roundabout going into Belize City to the Pound Yard where we will also do major drainage works. The ridged pavement there wherever it needs rehabilitated we will also do along with road signage and any adequate road furniture required.”

 

Demolition of the BelCan Bridge is set to start on July fourteenth, with construction slated to wrap up by November fifteenth, 2028. The Swing Bridge replacement is on a slightly longer timeline, with completion scheduled for January 2029.

 

Hilly Bennett, Media Personality

“Person asked me why do the two bridges at the same time?”

 

Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer

“The reason why we have reached to this point that we are doing the two bridges at the same time is because we had some delays with the BelCan Bridge whereby we lost about a year and a half for the implementation because we had started the procurement; however, that was stalled. Because we have grants for both projects, it is necessary for us to implement both projects at the same time because if we don’t utilize the grant funds then the Government of Belize will have to find those funding to build those two structures.”

 

Tanya Savery, a resident of Ebony Street, raised concerns about the current state of the BelChina Bridge. She warned that traffic in that area is already overwhelming, and any added strain could make the situation even worse.

 

Tanya Savery, Resident

“Has there been any solution in place towards traffic flow that you are now diverting towards BelChina bridge because now everybody is gonna want to use that. I actually particularly live on Ebony Street which is already quite inundated with vehicular traffic in the morning especially.”

 

Bernard Wagner

“The situation is again is very fluid but there is nothing etched in stone here. It is a work in progress but certainly I can vouch that our traffic team will be doing the necessary studies along those other areas that will be impacted.”

 

Evondale Moody

“Yes the MIDH is looking at that. We will rectify those maintenance that has to be carried out on BelChina. We will be doing periodic maintenance eon that bridge structure as well for the super structure. At tis point in time we are also doing works on the approach to Chetumal Street Bridge.”

 

Area Representative Lee Mark Chang shifted the conversation toward the nuts and bolts of the construction process, pressing for clarity on how the work will actually unfold. The well-known businessman asked whether contractors would take advantage of low-traffic hours, including nights or weekends to minimize gridlock.

 

Lee Mark Chang, Area Representative, Mesopotamia

“We know we have sunlight coming from five, five-thirty already in the morning and at the longest we have it up to six-thirty.  So will we take advantage of the working time so that we will make it more fast track rather than the full three years?”

 

Evondale Moody

“Base on my knowledge and experience of working with contractors in the past and presently at this point in time, the timeline for contractors working are from seven to six p.m. for most contractors.”

 

Concerns didn’t stop at the roadways. Greg Moguel Jr. raised alarms about boat traffic along Haulover Creek. With demolition and reconstruction planned right next to key waterways, he questioned whether engineers have fully accounted for marine access and safety during the project.

 

Evondale Moody

“Both temporary bridges that we are constructing will have a freeboard, or clearance to allow small vessels to pass through. Which are the ones that are currently passing under the Swing Bridge and under the BelCan Bridge. The path may not be as wide as it is right now with the existing bridges but it will be sufficient for them to pass through based on the designs that we have for the temporary structures.”

 

Turnout was surprisingly low for a project this massive, one that will affect most Belizeans and disrupt daily life across Belize City. Still, the questions from the audience were pointed and mirrored the broader worries circulating across the Old Capital. Shane Williams for News Five.

 

Residents Question City Hall’s Readiness for Traffic Chaos

 

But as these multimillion‑dollar projects inch closer to breaking ground, residents are voicing growing concerns about what the simultaneous works will mean for daily movement across the Old Capital. Those worries now extend to City Hall itself, as questions arise over whether the Belize City Council is prepared for the congestion, detours, and long-term responsibilities that will follow. With an upcoming MOU poised to place key corridors, including the rehabilitated Central American Boulevard, under municipal management, we asked Mayor Bernard Wagner whether his traffic department is ready for the challenge. Here’s how he responded.

 

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“We are prepared. We are up to the task, right? You can never know how all these things will play out but we have the wherewithal in terms of the personnel who have been working at the city council for years, long before me. I have full confidence in my staff and their capacity to deliver and have the traffic managed in a efficient and effective way.”

 

Shane Williams

“After this project, it is believed and expected that some of these thoroughfares will be turned over to the city – officially, the Central American Boulevard, the entrance into Belize City, is the city prepared to take on these thoroughfares?”

 

Bernard Wagner

“Of course, because we have been in an informal way maintaining some of those infrastructure. Central American Boulevard, we have worked along the Chetumal Boulevard. We have also been able to work sometimes on the highways. But by and large we are excited to – we know that MIDH whenever they finish the rehabilitation and the retrofitting of those assets and they hand it over to the city it will be for years to come. And so it just will require constant maintenance by the Belize City Council.”

 

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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