Clarendon people defy NWA and reopen bridge
AFTER the National Works Agency (NWA) closed the dilapidated First Bridge in Pedro, Clarendon, which was on the brink of collapsing, residents took it up on themselves to reopen the bridge despite warnings of danger and incomplete construction at the site.
Now, unsuspecting motorists traverse the bridge unaware of the dangers that lurk beneath them.
When the Jamaica Observer visited the community last week, taxis, private motor vehicles, pedestrians, and even trucks were seen making the journey across the bridge, closed in February 2021, which connects the community to the Good Hope and Kellits communities in the parish and also provides a passageway into St Ann from Pedro.
Closer examination of the bridge revealed that the ‘Road Closed’ sign erected by the NWA was torn down and bent to one side of the road.
Mervis Lloyd, a 72-year-old resident of Pedro, who operates a shop near the bridge, told the Sunday Observer that since February there was no sign of work being done on the bridge, which frustrated residents who find the alternative route more tedious to manoeuvre.
The alternative route carries motorists through Fort George in St Ann, along the geographical border, and back into Kellits.
Jacqueline Benjamin, fondly called Jane, said the road conditions and bridge closure had often resulted in her walking from Pedro to Good Hope, which takes her roughly an hour and half to complete.
The 52-year-old said it hinders her daily activities and when evening comes and she is to go to work, her energy levels are depleted.
“By time mi reach Good Hope and get taxi, it takes a lot,” Benjamin said, lamenting the limited number of taxis that operate on the route. “If the road wasn’t bad we would have better commute services and the cost of travel would be better. The regular route costs between $100 to $150 and the alternative route costs $200 to $250.”
Benjamin also pointed out that a shorter route to Fort George could be created as people who leave there to attend church or conduct business in Good Hope have it hard.
Anya Francis, 22, who lives in Pedro, shared that most people are afraid to drive on the bridge as it was a hole that allowed you to see the river beneath that led to the closure.
“Most people are afraid to drive on it or walk on it, and people from Fort George, Pedro come this way to get to Good Hope and Kellits. It’s actually a truck that drop some sand and stone there and the residents spread it out and sort of dump up the bridge and reopened it,” she shared, but added that people are still afraid to use it.
The residents also bemoaned the infrequent water supply to the area, which has caused them to spend thousands of dollars weekly for the precious commodity.
“We have to rely solely on rainfall, which is not constant. A 400 gallon of water will cost us $2,500, a 600 gallon will cost us $3,000, and how long this lasts depends on our family size.
Some people have to work with it. I am grateful for what I have and I can work with it, but that’s not the situation for many people. The water situation and our roads need attention,” a resident from Good Hope said.
Moreover, taxi operator Derrick Thompson said he wants to see some action on the bridge as it’s been poorly maintained over the years resulting in them having to do frequent repairs to their vehicles.
“Mi ina mi 60s and mi born and grow here and never see this road fix. Every week front end affi buy. Full time now it fix,” Thompson said.
Marvin Smith, another taxi operator who plies the Kellits through Pedro route said many of his colleagues just “chance it and go across the bridge”.
“The road up Fort George bad. It is worse than Good Hope to Pedro. The potholes deep. Even last week I end up spending $5,000 on a flex pipe and it bruck back again on the bridge.
Stephen Shaw, communications manager at NWA told the Sunday Observer that he was not aware that the residents had reopened the bridge, but emphasised that it is a danger to people and should not be used.
“If the bridge is a danger to persons we have to do that which is necessary and that is to close it. Our official position is that the bridge is closed. Any act of reopening is an act of illegality. Our official position is that the road – the structure there – is not supposed to be used by any one because it is falling down. It is a danger to people, we have blocked it, we have done everything humanly possible and if persons have gone there to reopen it, then the most we can do is to remind persons it is closed and should not be used,” he said.
Regarding the timeline for fixing the bridge, Shaw said he was unable to comment on that as it would be dependent on the availability of funding, which has not been earmarked for that.
Meanwhile, Dwight Sibbles, Member of Parliament for Clarendon Northern, covering places such as Croft’s Hill, Kellits, Good Hope, and Pedro told the Sunday Observer that his constituents have expressed concern about the bridge, which led them to contact the NWA, which assessed and closed the bridge.
However, he said residents prefer that route and as a result he has been lobbying for the repair of the bridge, but the budget needs to be assigned to do the repairs.
“We are dependent upon the NWA to repair the bridge and we await them. We continue to lobby and urge them to, as quick as possible, repair the bridge,” he said.
In relation to the residents who continue to use the bridge, Sibbles said he is discouraging the practice.
“I really discourage them from doing so, and I call upon the National Works Agency to just revisit the area and put things in place to prevent the use of the bridge because we would not want any tragedy to happen there,” Sibbles said.