St James residents getting two much-needed bridges

WESTERN BUREAU: RESIDENTS OF Albion and Salter’s Hill in St James will soon be able to access their respective communities with greater ease, thanks to a J$13 allocation by the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), which is being used to rehabilitate two bridges in the two communities.

Albion, which is located in Councillor RichardVernon’s Montego Bay South division, is to get a muchneeded footbridge, while in Salter’s Hill, which is in Councillor Uvel Graham’s Springmount division, a double cell boxed culvert bridge is being constructed.

The footbridge in Albion, which is being reconstructed, will connect King Street and adjoining areas to the main thoroughfare in Albion. It will replace the previous structure, which collapsed during the 2017 flood, which impacted several sections of Montego Bay.

According to Vernon, who is also the deputy mayor of Montego Bay, while the footbridge in Albion is not the only means by which the citizens can access the affected community, it will provide them with more options and greater comfort.

“I am positive that the residents are enthused by the prospects of being able to travel more conveniently,” said Vernon. “I am also cognisant that, with the near reopening of schools, students will be guaranteed better safety with the addition of this footbridge.”

Work on the Albion Bridge is almost 100 per cent complete. In fact, the projection is that it will be ready to be handed over to the community by this coming Friday.

In regard to the double cell boxed culvert bridge for Salter’s Hill, it will finally bring relief to the residents, who were cut off from neighbouring communities after the previous bridge fell into disrepair and became unusable.

The StJMC commenced work on this project, which is expected to be completed at a cost of J$9.5 million.

“I know for a fact that this particular project will add great value to the community, and the residents have made it known that they are very pleased with the infrastructural work being undertaken to alleviate some of their travel woes,” said Graham, who is anxiously looking forward to the completion of the bridge.