After ditching a billion-dollar temporary crossing proposal that failed to meet cost-effectiveness standards, Bahamian authorities have greenlit a $400,000 emergency repair project to reopen the condemned Fresh Creek Bridge on the island of Andros, government officials confirmed this week.
Clay Sweeting, Minister of Works and Family Island Affairs, announced that remediation work is scheduled to kick off on October 1 and is projected to wrap up within 4 to 6 weeks. The policy shift reverses an announcement made back in August, when officials said they would install a temporary crossing to keep vehicle traffic flowing while a full permanent replacement was constructed. Contractors had pegged the cost of that temporary structure at more than $10 million, a price tag that Sweeting said was never feasible for his ministry.
Following the bridge’s closure over safety concerns, ministry engineers carried out a full site assessment, evaluating both the temporary crossing option and the possibility of repairing the existing span. Robert Mouzas, Director of Public Works, explained that officials initially ruled out repairs, believing the damaged infrastructure was too compromised to fix, and began moving forward with plans for a temporary bridge. Upon further review, however, the team concluded the short-term temporary structure would not deliver value for public money, as it would only be needed for the relatively narrow window before a permanent replacement is completed.
Additional engineering investigations ultimately uncovered a viable, low-cost repair solution for the existing bridge. The structure was condemned after inspectors found an intermediate pier had sunk, shifting structural load onto two external supports and pulling three concrete slabs down by a total of nine inches. Repairs will focus on stabilizing the defective span: crews will install four steel tubular piles, then use steel beams to jack up the sunken section and reinforce its load-bearing capacity. All work will be completed from the water, requiring a barge to be transported from another Family Island. Mouzas noted that coordinating the barge’s delivery caused the pre-construction delay, and added that the repair method matches a successful remediation done on another section of the bridge in the past.
Once repairs are finished, vehicle traffic will resume across the crossing, allowing the temporary ferry service that currently connects the communities to be discontinued. Officials will implement ongoing structural monitoring to ensure safety in the interim before a permanent bridge is built.
Leon Lundy, Member of Parliament for Central Andros, South Andros and Mangrove Cay, emphasized that the crossing is an indispensable economic lifeline that links communities across the island. “It’s the economic bridge between the north central side of Andros and the south central side,” Lundy said, noting that the connected regions rely on integrated economic activity and residents have been eager to see normal travel restored. “That’s what we’re hoping to do in the month of October, bring some normalcy back and then move towards getting a final permanent bridge fixed.”
Looking ahead, the government will issue a request for proposals in the coming months to select a contractor for the engineering, design and construction of a full permanent replacement bridge. Preliminary plans call for a new crossing stretching from the northern dock to the southern creek bank. The new structure could be built adjacent to the existing crossing or on the same approximate site, with the final layout to be settled once a contractor is on board.
The permanent project will also include a key environmental component: removing a section of the existing causeway that currently blocks a portion of the creek. Mouzas explained that the strongest tidal current runs through the creek’s deeper channel, and removing the obstruction will allow water to flow more evenly across the entire waterway. This adjustment will also improve access for boats using the local dock and benefit mangrove ecosystems located farther west. Currently, sections of the creek’s water are stagnant, a problem that developed from human modifications to the creek that created the blockage.
The Ministry of Works and Family Island Affairs said it will release regular updates as repair work progresses and procurement for the permanent bridge moves forward.