MONTEGO BAY, St James — Work has started on rehabilitating the bridge to Over River in St James, which was washed away during last October’s Hurricane Melissa. The plan is to restore the metal bridge, which links Over Bridge to Sign and surrounding areas, to its original position.

It was dislodged, by water that rose more than 30 feet, from its concrete pillars and deposited a few metres away in the bed of the Montego River.

“Today is the first day of taking the bridge apart and even though it took so long to happen, I am truly grateful,” Councillor Uvel Graham (Jamaica Labour Party, Spring Mount Division) told the Jamaica Observer Wednesday as a team of construction workers disassembled the edifice.

“We are to take apart the bridge, take out the bad parts, bring it over and reassemble it so that the citizens of Over River and Hurlock can have the use of this bridge again,” he explained.

Without the bridge, many community members have had to travel much longer and costlier routes, either via Tucker or Estuary, to get into Montego Bay and beyond. Others have opted for the faster but riskier option.

“For over five months now they have been walking through the river, taking off their shoes walking across the stream. When it rains they can’t walk across because that is very risky,” Graham explained.

He estimates that work on the bridge should be completed and residents will once again have access to it within the next two months.

“Hopefully in about four to six weeks, the longest, we will have this bridge up and running again so it can serve the citizens of Over River and Hurlock,” said the councillor.

He said the National Works Agency (NWA) is leading the effort to restore the bridge and began by taking the bridge out of the river bed last week.

“We are going to break down the bridge,” NWA community relations officer for the western region Janel Ricketts told the Observer.

“We are going to salvage the good parts and now we are sorting some other parts because we have to build back up the bridge and then relaunch it at the platform,” she explained.

Looking past the inconvenience the damaged bridge has caused residents, Graham said the ongoing repair has been a source of jobs for some community members who have not worked since Hurricane Melissa.

“Right now we have six persons from the community and we have three persons who are professionals in this area, working on these bridges, and we’ll be taking on some more persons as we go along,” he explained.

Residents have welcomed the repairs.

“It’s a joy because we have to be walking through the water,” said one of two women who have been using the risky river bed route to get around.

The other, who said she worked nights as a member of the entertainment industry, spoke of challenges getting transportation into the community when she finishes work.

“Sometimes I have to wait hours in the night to get a drive; so we are hopeful that this will be completed soon,” she said.

Workmen repairing the bridge at Over River in St James.

The National Works Agency uses a crane to take the bridge out of the Montego River bed last week.

Councillor Uvel Graham points out where the bridge was located before being washed away during last October’s Hurricane Melissa.