A section of the road on South Shore completely devastated by the force of Hurricane Fabian is not likely to be rebuilt until the Causeway is completed and re-opened.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Engineering Derrick Binns said Government's workforce was concentrated at the Causeway in a bid to get the East End bridge back to normal as soon as possible.

Therefore, he said, no work had yet started on South Road in Smith's Parish, near to John Smith's Bay, which had been impassable since the hurricane hit on September 5.

The stretch of road, which was massively washed away by the storm and sea surge, has been closed for almost a month now and Dr. Binns said he was unable to say when it would re-open.

"We are not working on it yet because we are focussed on the Causeway right now and I don't have a date when we will start on it," said Dr. Binns.

"After we have finished the Causeway, then we can move onto other damaged areas, South Road in Smith's being one of them.

"That part of the road is still sealed off, but there are other routes residents can take in the meantime. We have done a little bit of clearing along that area, but that is about it."

Dr. Binns said work on the Causeway - the only link between the East End and the main Island - was going very well so far, but said its completion was partly dependent upon the weather.

However, when it would be permanently open and back to normal, he was unable to say.

The Causeway was severely damaged during the hurricane, with large areas of it washed away, leaving residents in the East End stranded and unable to reach the mainland in the days immediately after the storm.

And the Causeway was also the scene were four people were tragically swept to their deaths on the afternoon of the hurricane 120mph winds sent waves crashing over the bridge, washing them and their vehicles off into the water.

Only the body of P.c. Stephen Symonds has been discovered so far. The bodies of P.c. Nicole O'Connor, Police station officer Gladys Saunders and young father Manuel Pacheco have not been found.

Dr. Binns said the Ministry of Works and Engineering was working as fast as it could to see the bridge completed and open 24 hours a day, as opposed to only during daylight hours, which is now largely the case.

"I don't have a date to give, yet, on when it will be finished," he added.

"A lot depends on the weather and when we get to lay the asphalt - that's when the rain can have a real impact.

"Clearly, we are making progress and when we have a completion date we will announce it, but we don't know when that will be yet."

Dr. Binns said the Ministry of Works and Engineering was not viewing the repairs to the Causeway as a temporary measure. He said the aim was to finish the rebuilding once and for all - not to go back later and add to it.

"I would not call it temporary," he added.

"It's different than it was in as much as there are boulders providing support, where as before there was a flush wall. But we are not viewing this as a temporary repair, so we have to go back later and do something more long-term."