Portland bridge closed as danger hole opens
Published:Tuesday | November 17, 2020 | 12:13 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
Janga Gully, Portland:
Residents of several Portland communities are peeved at the authorities for the lack of maintenance of a deteriorating bridge along the Janga Gully road, which was ordered closed yesterday.
A hole in the deck of the bridge, making it dangerous for pedestrians and motorists, is what triggered the order to block vehicular access by the National Works Agency (NWA).
Yesterday, residents fumed that the situation had come to this, pointing out that the authorities were aware of the issue but failed to address the worsening condition of the bridge.
“A years this bridge deh yah and holes a appear, but dem nah fix it,” said Tony, a resident affected by the closure.
“Now rain come, and a dat mek it worse now. No car can’t come in or leave because di bridge shut down,” he lamented. “So all when yuh go shopping, you affi walk ‘cross di bridge wid yuh grocery dem. And if yuh live far ‘round a Back Falkland, you corner dark.”
Another resident, Valerie Brown, expressed concern that persons building or carrying out home-improvement works would have a hard time getting construction material to work sites as trucks could no longer access the bridge.
“I am hoping that the National Works Agency will get around to doing the necessary repairs quite quickly. We all know that it is unsafe for vehicles, especially trucks, to drive across. However, all of this could have been avoided if repairs were done to the bridge long ago,” she told The Gleaner.
The bridge, which is located off the main road at Boundbrook, serves several communities in the area, and according to Councillor Dexter Rowland, some 1,500 residents are now directly affected by the closure.
“I’m expecting that an assessment will be done shortly and that the repairs will also commence in short order,” he said. “So I am pleading for calm among the affected residents and for them to allow good sense to prevail. It is really a tense situation as in the event that there is a real emergency - probably someone falling ill and has to go to the hospital - a life could be lost as there is no vehicular access.”
He called for a temporary solution to restore vehicular access to the communities while they awaited the repairs.
“I will be speaking with representatives from the NWA office in Port Antonio to see how best we can deal with this situation,” Rowland said.