Bahamas Information Services Updates
Contract Signed for New Fishing Hole Causeway in Grand Bahama
By Simon Lewis, BIS
Dec 18, 2015 - 5:43:20 PM

Left to right seated at the signing are: Hon. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama; Colin Higgs, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Urban Development; and Wolfgang Geiger, ABC Construction. Standing left to right are: Hon. Shane Gibson, Minister of Labour and National Insurance; Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Right Hon. Perry Christie; Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration; Hon. Philip Davis, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development; Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, Science and Technology; Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, Minister of Tourism; and Hon. Allyson Maynard Gibson, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Residents of West Grand Bahama and all those persons who frequent that area are delighted with the Government’s signing of a contract to build a new causeway at the Fishing Hole, putting an end to vexing problems of flooding during adverse weather conditions.

The Government on Friday morning, December 18, 2015 signed a contract valued at $6,553,584.89 with the Freeport-based All Bahamas Construction Company Limited (ABC) to construct the new, elevated road.

ABC is the same firm currently completing the construction of the Sir Jack Hayward Bridge, which passes over the Grand Lucayan Waterway connecting Grand Bahama Highway to East Grand Bahama.

Prime Minister the Right Hon. Perry Christie, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development the Hon. Philip Davis, Tourism Minister and Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, and Minister for Grand Bahama the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville were among the list of senior Cabinet Ministers participating in the ceremony, which took place near the entrance to the Fishing Hole.

Deputy Prime Minister Davis stated that the project duration is to be sixty-one weeks.

Addressing a very large audience assembled for the groundbreaking and contract signing, the Deputy Prime Minister said that successive governments have known the need to find a solution to problems facing the Fishing Hole Road.

He said it has been a priority for his Ministry dating as far back as the 1990s.

Further, he stressed that notwithstanding the responsibilities of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and others with respect to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, as a government, they could never neglect their obligations to citizens of The Bahamas.

Ground Breaking Ceremony for the new Fishing Hole Causeway took place in Grand Bahama on Friday morning. Also participating in the ceremony was 97-year-old Alecia Thompson of Eight Mile Rock. Left to right are: Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, Minister of Tourism and MP for West End and Bimini; Ms. Thompson; Wolfgang Geiger, All Bahamas Construction Company; Hon. Philip Davis, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development; Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama; John Gallagher, All Bahamas Construction; Hon. Shane Gibson, Minister of Labour and National Insurance; and Colin Higgs, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Urban Development. (BIS Photo/Vandyke Hepburn)

“To this end we have contracted an engineering firm to deal with the challenges that the Fishing Hole Road poses. We wanted to have something that would withstand normal to extreme environmental conditions, with minimal negative impact on the settlement of Queen’s Cove; [at the same time] one that provides for the environmental preservation and restoration of communication between the Hawksbill Creek and the Freeport Harbour,” he stated.

The Deputy Prime Minister also recalled the various town meetings that took place with area residents to discuss solutions to the problem.

He told the large number of mostly West Grand Bahama residents assembled that “this solution, which was assisted by your input, provides an elevated causeway and elevated road to improve access to Freeport.

“Preliminary studies completed on the Fishing Hole Road site suggest that the causeway should be raised between ten to twelve feet. With that recommendation, the implementation of this engineering solution is design/build,” he said.

Also, he advised that three Grand Bahama-based contractors were invited to participate in a tender exercise and to provide their best technical solutions for the new Fishing Hole Causeway. Those companies were Waugh Construction, Smith Construction and All Bahamas Construction.

Mr. Davis also told the gathering “what we do here today is a component of a larger plan for Grand Bahama. At its completion, it will be a part of the robust package of capital investment projects that we promised for this island.”

Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville called Friday’s signing a historic event.

He said “this is a jubilant time; a time of celebration and reflection.

Dr. Darville also said that it is no secret that the current Fishing Hole Road is prone to flooding, which continues to affect the residents in West Grand Bahama who during adverse weather conditions are unable to access the essential services that are located in Freeport.

The Grand Bahama Minister further stated that Friday’s signing was “tangible evidence of this administration’s commitment to improve the lives of the people of Grand Bahama by tackling the complicated vexing issues head-on, and to garnering hope and expectation for the future.

“This historical groundbreaking and contract signing ceremony speaks to our commitment in fulfilling the promises outlined in our Charter for Governance and to creating a stronger Bahamas,” he stated.

PM Discusses Grand Bahama Projects at Fishing Hole Causeway Contract Signing

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