In other infrastructure news, the Santa Elena/San Ignacio Low-Lying Bridge was closed yesterday and will remain closed until Sunday, December 15.
MIDH engineers will use this time to assess the condition of the bridge - after it was underwater for almost three weeks flooding.
The Chief Engineer told us more - and conceded the bridge has outlived its design purpose:
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"Based on some preliminary assessment that we did, we need to repair some of the bridge members, including the deck, the running board. We have a couple of girders that we need to change, and we observed that maybe some piles might need to be changed out as well."
"This is all as a result of the undercurrents that were occurring with the floodwaters in the Macal. And so because the bridge is a low lying structure, it has been submerged for quite some time. Because of the technical members, the Timbers, we have observed that it has sustained some structural damage to it. So we need to ensure the public's safety. And so I made a decision to close that structure yesterday."
Jules Vasquez
"I know it is much used by townspeople, especially those trafficking in the market area, but for the MIDH, has it become sort of, an annoyance because obviously it was first called a temporary bridge, and it is not fit for purpose."
"Has it, in fact, outlived its useful life? But it just has to be kept going because it's such a popular bridge at a great location."
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"Yes, I could say that you're perfectly right with the statement that you have made. It has outlived its design life. However, because of the maintenance, the continuous maintenance that MIDH has done, it is still functional."
"From a economic standpoint, that bridge basically should have been removed when we built the new Macal, because we're not really seeing the economic viability of the new structure because of all the traffic is still not using the new structure."
"So from an MIDH point, as the Chief engineer, I just have to accept it because it's something that the community wants. And we believe that we just need to continue maintain it until such time."
Jules Vasquez
"When you have two imperious, weatherproof structures in San Ignacio and Santa Elena, is maintaining this bridge more trouble than it's worth, when so much has been invested in upgrading the Hawksworth and also erecting the bridge over the Macal."
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer - MIDH
"Yes, from a technical perspective it is, and I would, as a chief engineer, would have to admit to that."
"It is because we have to continuously be maintaining the structure in an effort to just satisfy the public."
"But it's just because of the community, we still have to continue to do this maintenance, and there's nothing we could do about that until a final decision is made by the politicians for us to remove the structure."
