And, as we have reported The race will be ending at the Haulover bridge and a major concern raised by the paddlers was about safety because of the strong cross currents. Well, the chief engineer has confirmed that during the construction, they did experience a strong current in the area:
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
"It's a new structure. And so from our perspective, yes, the bridge is very safe for it to accommodate vehicular traffic. and also the pedestrians that will be situated on top of the structure. In terms of the waterway, I can't speak too much about that. I know that the waterway during our construction has a strong current within that area, but that is something outside my purview and I cannot say and speak on the safety aspect of that. I could only speak on the structure itself, but for the structure itself, it's a safe bridge for them to congregate and watch the finish of the race from that."
Additionally, when the race ends at the Belcan, the MIDH cleans the channel to make it easier for paddlers.
This year, they put that cleaning on pause when they learned that the race would end at Haulover.
So if the Canoe Association will still be paddling to Belcan in their act of protest, the Chief engineer says there are risks:
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
"Typically we are asked to clean that channel from the Belize river going through towards Chetumal Street Bridge because of the fallen debris from trees and branches that are within the creek. We had started those works as I've mentioned, but because we were informed that the race will no longer end at the Belcan Bridge, we diverted those funds to do other activities that are necessary for us to implement. as a ministry. And some of those same funds are now being utilized to improve the banks near the section that we have discussed previously."
Reporter
"So would it pose as a quote unquote threat, one would say, if the paddlers would continue going to the Belcan, being that the channel was not cleared up properly?"
Evondale Moody, Chief Engineer, MIDH
"That is possible. That is possible because we did not complete that task. So that is definitely possible. But I'm not sure why they would go there. The race is going to be finishing at the new Haulover Bridge."
The race is set to start on Friday at 7am.
