Prime Minister to officially open Spring Village bridge
Article By: Old Harbour News
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- Jun 09, 2026 01:39 PM | News
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The new Spring Village bridge was completed at a cost of $250 million. (OHN Photo)
The long-awaited infrastructure project, valued at approximately $250 million, replaces a dilapidated century-old structure that was closed in 2022 due to severe structural weakness.
Speaking on Radio Jamaica’s On Our Roads programme, Stephen Shaw, Manager of Communications and Customer Services at the National Works Agency (NWA), confirmed that the bridge is already being used by locals, who have expressed overwhelming relief. “It is actually in use, persons in the community are quite happy,” Shaw said this morning during the Sunnyside Up show with Paula-Ann Porter-Jones and Derrick Wilks.
“Having had the old dilapidated structure replaced, we have actually had the bridge closed from as far back as 2022, and this now facilitated the construction of this new structure that we are going to open come Friday,” he explained.
It is understood that the ceremony is scheduled for Friday morning, with the Most Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Holness, expected to attend.
The closure of the original bridge, which had stood for over a century, created major disruption for the area. The crossing is a critical connector for residents traveling from Gutters to Spring Village, home of the Jamaica Broilers Group’s Best Dressed Chicken factory, as well as to northern communities such as Dover and Point Hill.
Since the closure in 2023, commuters were forced to use an alternative route through Nightingale Grove Farms (also called Five Acres), a detour that was both longer and more expensive.
Physical works on the replacement project began in early 2025, following a joint funding effort. The NWA led the project, with a significant contribution of $50 million from the Jamaica Broilers Group. The new design is a pre-stressed girder concrete bridge, featuring sidewalks for pedestrians, concrete wing walls, protective river training works, new road signs, and markings.
With the bridge now open ahead of the official ribbon-cutting, residents of Spring Village and surrounding areas can finally put the long detour behind them.
