CRAIG MILL, West Portland — The Craig Mill Bridge here was declared “a disaster” by Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie when he toured the area Wednesday morning.

“We consider this to be a real emergency, so under the Disaster Risk Management Act, we are going to declare this a disaster for immediate attention,” McKenzie said.

He said the challenge now faced is access to the communities affected — Craig Mill, White Hall and Belvedere, for which there is no alternative route.

“We don’t want…a repeat of what happened at Troy Bridge [Trelawny], so we are taking an effective route. The vulnerability of this community is threatened, and whenever the river gets in spate it creates problems for people living in the area,“ the minister said.

Troy Bridge, which links several Trelawny, Manchester, and St Elizabeth communities, collapsed in August 2021 during the passage of Tropical Storm Grace. The Craig Mill Bridge collapsed on December 29, 2024, under the weight of a truck laden with stones. Last week, due to flooding, people were observed walking on the remaining rails to get in and out of their communities.

McKenzie said he will be working closely with colleague Robert Morgan, the minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic, Growth and Job Creation with responsibility for works

“The most urgent requirement is access to persons to the area as we have seen videos circulating with persons trying to get across,” Morgan said. “I will be engaging the head of the National Works Agency, so that we also can look at whatever emergency facility exists through our legislation to assist in the creation of a temporary structure… and a permanent bridge for the people of this area,” Morgan assured.

Meanwhile, West Portland Member of Parliament and Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz welcomed the development.

“This is a welcome day for me, a battle that I have been fighting for many years, and there was a process that was done before, but because of lack of funding, we were not able to implement the replacement of the bridge. What I want to see right now is a temporary bridge for the pedestrians. We will be looking at alternative walking and driving routes…until a pedestrian bridge is in place and then a permanent bridge,” he said.

— Everard Owen