Minister Hurreeram effects site visit at the St Denis bridge in Chamarel

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The Minister of National Infrastructure and Community Development, Mr Mahendranuth Sharma Hurreeram, effected a site visit along with the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo, at the St Denis bridge located across the Baie du Cap-Chamarel-Case Noyale Road (B104), this afternoon.

The Private Parliamentary Secretary Mr Nand Prakash Ramchurrun, Member of National Assembly, Mrs Marie Sandra Monia Mayotte, and Officers from the Road Development Authority (RDA), were also present.

In a statement, Minister Hurreeram recalled that the ancient bridge was a low-lying bridge over the River St Denis and often got flooded during heavy rainfall, thus rendering the bridge impracticable endangering the road users. In this context, this new bridge to the tune of Rs 44 million was built so as to alleviate the problem of flooding and with a sufficient headroom to allow free flow of water even during heavy rainfall, he added.

Moreover, he lauded the efforts of the members of the Constituency who came forward with the request to look at the infrastructural works required for the bridge and those who worked towards the realisation of the project so as to create a better connectivity between other regions of the island and Chamarel as it is a tourist prone area.

Mr Hurreeram underlined that the provision of enhanced infrastructure such as the newly constructed St Denis bridge is in line with Government’s objective of providing a safe and secure environment to the population. This bridge will enhance road safety in particular for school children of the region, he further stated.

In addition, he reiterated the commitment of the Government to develop and improve infrastructure with a view to ensure the well-being and safety of residents, road users and the population at large on the long term.

On this score, he pointed out that the initial low-lying bridge had a total of nine cross drains of approximate size 700mm wide by 500mm deep giving a total hydraulic sectional area of 3.15 m2 while the cross-sectional of the new bridge is about 55 m2, with an effective hydraulic area of 32.9 m2 based on a design return period of 100 years with peak flow of 214m3/s.  

For his part, Mr Ganoo expressed gratitude to the concerned stakeholders and the Government for having taken into consideration the gravity of the situation and worked towards providing the inhabitants of the region a bridge as per required standards and which will alleviate flooding issues in the region.

He recalled that the Government along with the District Council of Black River, is leaving no stone unturned to invest in infrastructural projects, especially in road infrastructure so as to bring development in the country. We have at heart the quality of life of all citizens, irrespective of the regional area and the number of inhabitants, and will continue to strive in that direction until the end of our mandate, the Minister added.

As for Mr Ramchurrun, he indicated that this project started in March 2020 upon the request of the inhabitants of the region, adding that along with concerned stakeholders, works started to build this new state-of-the-art bridge and continued for a period of one and a half year.

He thanked the Minister of National Infrastructure for having considered this project as essential on the priority lists of works in a bid to relieve the inhabitants of Chamarel rapidly.

Mrs Mayotte, for her part, recalled that the ancient bridge used to be flooded during heavy rainfall, thus rendering the bridge impracticable and endangering the road users. She further added that the construction of this newly built bridge bears testimony of the fact that the Government is working towards the enhancement of the life of each and every citizen around the island.

As regards embellishment of the surroundings of the bridge, she pointed out that the members of the Constituency and concerned stakeholders of the Constituency will get in touch with the Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change soon so as to beautify the area and make it a green space.

Salient details in the construction of the new St Denis bridge

The construction of the new bridge comprised:

• Demolition of the existing structure and reconstruction of a reinforced concrete bridge to provide unrestricted flow of the river into the sea;
• Upgrading and tie-in of approximately 230m of B104 Road on both sides of the new bridge;
• Upgrading and extension of existing drainage structures along the existing road;
• Construction of road side footpaths, drains and retaining structures such as masonry walls;
• Diversion and relocation of existing services; and
• Provision of miscellaneous road equipment such as road marking, cat’s eyes, traffic signs, handrails, safety fences, road lighting etc.

The level of the new bridge is about 3.5 m above the St Denis River.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Mauritius.