New look for Causeway?

Government’s promise to review the design of the Causeway is being seen as a golden opportunity to create an iconic landmark.

“It could almost be public art,” says Glyn Quarterly of the Institute of Bermuda Architects. “It would be good if it was designed so that when people drive across it, you’re interested in looking at the bridge as well.”

The notion of a landmark structure has also struck a chord with Premier Craig Cannonier: “We have a great opportunity to make an architectural statement,” he told us, “...a beautiful structure you can see as you fly in.” 

Glyn Quarterly, vice president of the Institute of Bermuda Architects and a partner in architectural firm Terceira Quarterly Associates, said: “It would be good if it was designed so that when people drive across it, you’re interested in looking at the bridge as well.

“I don’t like using the word ‘iconic’ — but rather than just driving over it now, when it’s just bits of concrete or block, it could almost be public art.

“It could be nice architecture — done with good detail on it. The railings, for example, don’t necessarily have to be stone walls. They could have a nice Bermuda motif and a gateway from the airport, as you see in other places.”

He added: “It could also have nice lighting. It could be lit up at night quite nicely.”

Mr Quarterly was speaking after Public Works Minister Trevor Moniz committed the new Government to a review of the Causeway design in this year’s Throne Speech.

Mr Quarterly said: “Any new crossing is going to have to be designed to withstand hurricane force winds and high swells.

“There’s a lot of structural engineering in it and the materials have to be very durable because of the salt water — you don’t want things rusting away or rotting.

“Generally speaking, the client, in this case the Government, would come up with a design brief and perhaps a budget to work within, which would drive the materials and structure used.”

The previous Government looked at options for a new crossing several years ago in the wake of severe damage caused by Hurricane Fabian in 2003, which swept away part of the existing Causeway and claimed four lives.

Mr Quarterly predicted: “It’s going to look similar probably — there will be piers or piling and I don’t think it’s going to be anything like these very high suspension bridges you see around the world.

“It’s probably going to be more in keeping with the Bermuda style of architecture.”

It is feared another Category 3 storm of Fabian proportions would cause further major damage and that, even though repairs were done after 2003, the bridge link remains vulnerable.

It is also understood that Government is aware that the high cost of maintenance and upkeep of the ageing structure would pay for a new crossing in a relatively short period of time.

Design statement

Plans to make a design statement — along the lines of a scaled-down, Bermudianised statement along the lines of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco or the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia — were backed by Premier Craig Cannonier.

He said: “It’s interesting the way construction has changed — buildings and bridges have taken on more of an art form, as opposed to a square building or a wire supporting a bridge.

“We have a great opportunity to make an architectural statement and it’s a unique opportunity — a beautiful structure you can see as you fly in.”

He added that the two main oil installations and the airport were all at risk of being cut off from the rest of the island if there was major damage to the existing, ageing structure.

He said: “These are two things that keep the island afloat — we have got to bridge that gap.”

Mr Cannonier added that discussions on how to proceed were still at an early stage.

He said: “We need something that’s workable and we need to start laying the foundation as to what it will cost the country to put in a structure we don’t have to revisit year after year.

“We have a temporary bridge there at the moment and it’s bowed and nobody’s addressing it.

“But we can’t afford to have a structure that, if the right hurricane comes along, will be washed away. We can’t afford to continue on like that.”

Mr Cannonier added: “This year we will have dialogue on the options, what it’s going to cost the country and how we’re going to finance it.”

Proposals to deal with the Causeway problem were unveiled for public consultation 2006 by the then-PLP Government.

Design options looked at included a high-level bridge to allow larger boats to pass under it, a lower-level structure with a moveable bridge section to allow vessels through or an underwater tunnel.

Other options looked at included repairing the existing structure after damage and accepting disruptions caused by breakdowns at Long Bird Bridge or upgrading the existing Causeway by raising and widening the roadway, straightening the carriageway at the west end and replacing Long Bird Bridge.

Alternative routes to the current structure were also looked at, through Duck’s Puddle, Coney Island and Ferry Reach Park.

The original Causeway was opened in 1871 and badly damaged by a major storm nine years later. It was rebuilt to the original design. In 1899, most of the bridge was wrecked again by a major hurricane.