Residents wants Paradise bridge repaired
An online petition has been launched to put pressure on the Government to repair the Paradise bridge in Westmoreland.
Using secure.avaaz.org as the vehicle, the petitioners say that “with all the detoured routes either deemed unsafe or unfeasible, commuters are forced to using the ‘closed road’ leading to the dangerous bridge between Sweet River and Paradise, Westmoreland”.
“We are calling for a temporary bridge until the damaged one is fixed,” the petition read.
The bridge was closed by the National Works Agency (NWA) on November 5 for repairs due to a breakaway.
“It is now three weeks since the closure, and there is no sign of any work being done. This is unacceptable,” said Dwayne Vaz, the member of parliament for Central Westmoreland, the constituency in which Paradise falls.
Vaz said that with the Christmas season fast approaching, the heavy traffic entering Savanna-la-Mar and going through to Grange Hill and Negril could lead to serious congestion.
“Since the closure of the bridge, the alternate route through Sweet River, Amity, and Torrington to Dunbar’s River has become a daily traffic jam,” Vaz said.
Contacted yesterday, Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the NWC, said: “We are finalising the design for a new bridge. It is a process that has to be informed by the information that we collect in the field.”