Work to repair the Causeway is now in the “home stretch”, Government said yesterday.

Works and Engineering Permanent Secretary Derrick Binns was unwilling to give an exact date for the complete re-opening of the vital artery between the East End and the mainland, but told The Royal Gazette “we are nearer the finish than we are the start”.

The Causeway received a heavy pounding from Hurricane Fabian 18 days ago and still is only open to the public during daylight hours, apart from a 60 minute slot at 11.30 p.m. to allow shift workers to move around the Island.

“We are working to get the Causeway back to a pre-Fabian level as soon as possible,” said Dr. Binns. “This is the main project which the Highways crews are concentrating on, other jobs are being dropped back on while we work on this.

“We are putting as many resources as we can into this. Just ask the people of St. George's if you want to know how important the Causeway is.

“It is a vital artery and often the only way of connecting the people of the East End with the mainland. It also provides a link with the Airport, which is so vital to our economy.

“I don't want to put a time frame on things at the moment, but it would be safe to say that we are nearer the finish than we are the start. You could say we are in the home stretch.”

Staff from the Works and Engineering Ministry are working during the day with a private contractor to restore the walls while private contractors Island Construction are working at night to raise the level of the road surface at Longbird Bridge where it has significantly dropped.

“We are rebuilding the walls of the Causeway to create a barrier for safety reasons and also a barrier to prevent waterspray damaging the road surface,” continued Dr. Binns. “At the Longbird Bridge end we are working to raise the level of the Causeway, which have already done to a large extent, and we are also placing large boulders for support at that end.

“We are progressing very well. And I am thrilled with the commitment and dedication our staff have been showing in recent weeks. They are aware of the critical importance the Causeway plays for the people of Bermuda and they are working accordingly.”

The walls are being rebuilt using concrete blocks, reinforced with rods and cement - a plaster finish is likely to be added later.

At Longbird Bridge, the cavity in the damaged bridge is being filled with rubble, rock and sand and it will be topped off with asphalt.

Dr. Binns admitted that work could be completed much earlier if the Causeway was permanently shut, but explained that could never have been an option.

“If we worked round the clock, which would have been a matter of finding the resources, we could have completed the work much more quickly,” he said.

“But the decision to operate like this was made with speed, safety and connectivity in mind. And I believe we have made a sound decision. Safety has to be paramount.”

Dr.Binns added that he understood there had been no accidents on the Causeway since it re-opened but urged all drivers to exercise caution when crossing.

During the height of Fabian's wrath, four people were killed when two vehicles, including a Police cruiser, were washed off the Causeway.

Constable Stephen Symons was buried last week, but Nicole O'Connor, Gladys Saunders and Manuel Pacheco are still missing.