On the eve of the reopening of schools in Montego Bay, St James, the National Works Agency (NWA) surprised the town by completing works on the heavily-used Howard Cooke Bridge.

The bridge was reopened before midday today, three weeks ahead of schedule.

The double-strength concrete used by the contractors and the fast curing additives added to the concrete mix are among the things being credited for shortening the work time.

The project was planned for six weeks, and started on Sunday, August 21, ending on or before the end of September.

“It is a heavily used corridor and we anticipated that with the start of school there would be quite a bit of congestion,” NWA's community relations officer for the Western Region, Janel Ricketts, told The Gleaner.

She said during the closure there was some congestion, which she said would have worsened with the reopening of school for the new academic year on Monday.

The NWA pumped $6 million into the repair of the bridge, which was repaired by contractors J&L Equipment and Construction Services.

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