Hawkesworth Bridge

Hawkesworth Bridge is a one lane suspension bridge in San Ignacio, Belize. Built in 1949 and imported from Middlesbrough, England, it crosses the Macal River linking San Ignacio to its sister-town Santa Elena. It is currently the only drivable suspension bridge in Belize. Work began in October 2012 on a new, larger bridge that will link Santa Elena and San Ignacio that will span 154 meters across the Macal River.

Another wooden bridge downstream is only a few feet above the river and is normally used for westbound traffic from the Western Highway into San Ignacio. The wooden bridge was almost entirely destroyed by Hurricane Earl, but is currently being rebuilt. In the interim, the Hawkesworth Bridge is handling intermittent traffic in both directions.

It was opened on Saturday August 20, 1949 and was named after the late Sir Edward Gerald Hawkesworth, former governor of British Honduras. The type of bridge was chosen because of very high flooding and that the river was used to float logs downstream. The Director of Public Works, Executive Engineer, Chief Engineer for the Crown Agents, who was entrusted the design, agreed to build a suspension bridge. Tenders for the construction of the bridge were called from July 1946 and subsequently contracted were Messrs. Head Wrightson & Co Ltd for the steel work and Messrs Bruntons Ltd of Musselburgh, Scotland for the cables. Construction started on 5 February 1948, supervised by Mr. Eric V. Williams, Executive Engineer and Mr. F. C. Hecker, General Foreman.

The bridge cost $198,384.33 and contained 2,260 tons of concrete, 264 tons of steel work and the cables, made of 7 individual strands and weighing 18 tons each. The foundation was carried to bedrock 12 feet below the surface. The columns were raised to a height of 46 feet and the center to a height of 52 feet, 7 feet above the highest known flood level. The total length of the bridge is 480 feet and the main span is 280 feet, with an additional 100 feet on each side.

It was a great day for the people of British Honduras as the bridge was the final link connecting San Ignacio and Belize City via a road that would later be named Western Highway, then renamed in 2013 as the George Price Highway. The days of the Cayo boats had certainly come to an end. The people of San Ignacio and Santa Elena had gathered at the bridge and it was the largest gathering that the western capital had ever seen to date. People came from near and far to witness the opening. The crowds enjoyed the music that was being played through the loud speakers of Rev. Gregory Sontag while they waited for his Excellency, the Governor of British Honduras, Ronald Herbert Garvey, who arrived just in time for the 5:00 p.m. opening.

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