TROY, Trelawny — With the Government proposing to spend an estimated $1.3 billion on bridge repair and maintenance in the 2023/24 fiscal year, Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips has reiterated the need for a bridge here to be replaced urgently. Since the Troy Bridge collapsed in August 2021, schoolchildren and other residents have been using makeshift methods, including a fallen tree and a zipline comprising a rope and bucket to cross the river. The risky makeshift footbridge connects residents in the neighbouring communities of Cowick Park in north-western Manchester to Troy in southern Trelawny. Since the bridge collapsed, residents have had to use a 15-mile alternative commute for safety. Phillips told the Jamaica Observer last week following the tabling of the Estimates of Expenditure in the House of Representatives that he hopes the bridge replacement will be treated as an emergency.

“It is an urgent matter. Just imagine how urgent other matters are, and yes, it will come down to cash flow; but if you look at the upcoming financial year’s budget you will see that normally, it is $70 million that is put in there for bridge repairs and maintenance, [now] it is over $1.2 billion that is in the budget this coming financial year for bridge maintenance…” he said.

“We have to deal with emergency matters as emergencies [and] not as regular projects, as the process will determine. Troy Bridge is an emergency. It is a matter of somebody just hurting themselves or losing their life. Government has to do better,” added Phillips.

However, chief executive officer of the National Works Agency (NWA) E G Hunter said the Troy Bridge is among projects to be presented to the the Public Investment Appraisal Branch (formerly the Public Investment Management Secretariat) for approval. PIAB is a branch of the Public Expenditure Division (PEX), which supports the Public Investment Management System (PIMS) by providing technical support and advice to the Public Investment Management Committee (PIMC), thereby facilitating effective pre-investment decision-making.

“… We have several project which are in the pipeline going to PIMSEC. The Troy Bridge is one of them. There are several others,” said Hunter.

He said the procurement for the bridge could take up to 12 months after it and other projects are presented to PIMSEC.

Phillips said he is concerned that the bridge had not already gone to PIMSEC.

He added that the Government needs to fast-track the replacement of the bridge.

“… Something is wrong with the budgeting process, because it would be interesting to see what other bridges they have put in the system that have already gone through PIMSEC and procurement that they will be spending that money, if not then why put the money?” he asked.

“The challenge that I have is that when you send it to PIMSEC, it adds another year to the process. These are not projects that are new. This is the replacement of a bridge. The process should just be able to go through a tendering process. There are certain guidelines that govern the tendering of contracts, PIMSEC is a department that looks at the viability of a project,” added Phillips.

Phillips, who is also Opposition spokesman on transport and works, said the Troy Bridge replacement should be prioritised.

“This [bridge] should not follow that route [PIMSEC], because as something that is so critical should not take two to three years. We have already gone a year and a half [since] the bridge has collapsed and you’re going to add another year of just Government bureaucracy and then another 12 months to deal with the procurement process after PIMSEC, so you are looking at replacement of a bridge of three years,” said Phillips.

“It is sad that I have to refer back to the collapsed road at Gordon Town that took place a couple years ago and that was dealt within a year. Procurement and construction was dealt with in the shortest space of time, because of how critical it was and that is how we want the projects and issues like the Troy Bridge to be dealt with,” added Phillips.

He continued: “If a collapsed bridge is going to take two budget cycles to be replaced — and yes, Government will have to prioritise which project they do at which time — but if a bridge like that which has shown that it affects schools, commerce and so much of the daily lives of the residents in the area is going to take two budget cycles then something is inherently wrong with the process itself and that Government needs to just relook at it.”