Bridge from Red House to AG’s old office

CONSTRUCTION has begun on a bridge to link the Red House to nearby Cabildo Chambers, the building that previously housed the Office of the Attorney General.

Tipped off by a construction worker, Newsday saw a huge structure made of steel beams, built at the middle section of the west side of the Red House, pointing in the direction of Cabildo Chambers on St Vincent Street, Port of Spain, at whose entrance correspondingly stood two large pillars at ground level.

Previously Newsday had reported that the 2019 budget’s Infrastructure Development Fund had allocated $35 million to upgrade Cabildo Chambers to serve as ancillary offices for the seat of Parliament in the renovated Red House.

This is in place of an ambitious $350 million proposal under the Patrick Manning administration for an entire new parliamentary complex to be built north of the Red House on the site of the regiment offices on Knox Street.

While the Red House will contain two chambers for each of the Upper and Lower Houses; offices for the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and the two whips; and a dining room, Udecott head Noel Garcia had told Newsday that Cabildo Chambers will contain Parliament’s communications unit, offices for MPs and senators, meeting rooms and other facilities.

Otherwise the Red House yesterday stood with different sections of its exterior variously in its original faded pink, a cream-coloured lime render and a freshly-painted deep brownish maroon.

The south end was fully painted, as was the northeast corridor (upstairs), but in contrast the central rotunda on both west and east sides was a blotchy mix of faded pink and cream render. Viewed from the west at ground level, the rotunda looked gutted of any substantive structures, while lengths of scaffolding lay around.

A workman in nearby Woodford Square told Newsday that on the exterior walls, plastering was 100 per cent done, and 75 per cent of the interior done.

“The limestone plaster takes three months to dry before they could work back on it,” he explained.

He reckoned the renovation would be finished by June or July. Deadlines have been successively pushed back from November 2018 to last March.

He said while the building had been made earthquake-resistant by pushing steel beams through it, a section that had not been treated had been damaged by the quake of 6.9 magnitude last August 21, and workers then had to repair it.

Otherwise Newsday saw the whole building adorned with a new roof, with tiles and dormer windows. Some doors and windows have been fitted into their frames.

Newsday was unable yesterday to contact Udecott chairman Noel Garcia, who is overseeing the renovation.