FORGING ahead with its plans to construct a new Wismar-Mackenzie bridge at Linden, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) will host a Virtual Public Consultation on July 7, 2020 via Zoom and citizens will be able to give their inputs on the bridge’s design and possible impact to the environment.

The MoPI has advertised that the consultation will see the presentation of alternative bridge designs and will allow for questions to be asked and answered.
Back in October 2019, through public consultations hosted by Politecnica — the consultancy firm hired by the ministry — many Lindeners agreed that they wanted the new bridge to be constructed in proximity to the existing bridge.

Meanwhile, the consultancy firm was tasked with preparing the final design of the bridge, based on a detailed feasibility study and bid documents.

For the design, residents who attended the consultations had preferred that the bridge be durable and wide enough to support heavy-duty vehicles such as lumber trucks, which frequent Linden.

The bridge, they requested, should also be high enough to accommodate bauxite ships and that scales be placed at both ends of the bridge.

The residents also spoke of how accessing infrastructure should match the width of the bridge to accommodate the influx of traffic that is expected in the town with the construction of the Linden to Lethem Road.

The new bridge will be built according to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) standards.

A video released by the MoPI last month showed the preliminary design of the bridge which includes a round-about on both the Mackenzie and Wismar ends of the bride and separate lanes for going and coming traffic. It was also high enough for passing vessels and includes rails.