MONTEGO BAY, St James — Councillor Charles Sinclair (Jamaica Labour Party, Montego Bay North East Division) is calling on the Government to include the bridge on the busy Howard Cooke Boulevard in St James to the list of bridges earmarked for a $1.3-billion repair and maintenance project announced earlier this month.

Sinclair, who made the call during the St James Municipal Corporation’s regular monthly meeting last Thursday, told the council that there is a particular area on the bridge that causes motorists to experience slippage, adding that he has experienced the problem.

“I was driving on this particular bridge and there was slight rainfall… my car went from side to side, slipping on the metal surface. And in just general commentary with other persons, they told me that they have experienced the same,” Sinclair said.

He voiced concern for the safety of people who often use the bridge on their way into downtown Montego Bay.

The bridge is frequently used by students of Montego Bay Community College and the neighbouring Herbert Morrison Technical High School.

“There is a walkway on that bridge; you can imagine a vehicle slipping off on the surface and ends up on the walkway? On a ship day a lot of the visitors walk to get into the town and the residents do their exercise, so it is quite a dangerous environment,” said Councillor Sinclair.

Referencing an article by the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) regarding the bridges earmarked to benefit from the $1.3-billion project in 2023/24 fiscal year, Sinclair said, “Quite a lot [of] bridges are being targeted… but I don’t see Howard Cooke. It doesn’t fall in my division, but [with] my responsibility as a councillor, which facilitates me to speak on any issue that impacts upon safety in the parish, I am bringing the attention of this particular bridge,” Sinclair said.

He also pointed out that with the roll-out of the new Road Traffic Act, the Government has a duty to “make our roadways safe for the public”. He told the council that expectations cannot be placed solely on the motoring public as there needs to be provisions in place to also ensure their safety while they abide by the laws of the country.

“While we impose obligations on the motorists, and while the law that says the fine for breaching the Road Traffic Act is going to be raised in order to be a deterrent… we must also ensure that our obligations as a government are [met] — we must make the roadways safer,” said Sinclair said.

On March 1, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation Everald Warmington had announced the $1.3-billion bridge repair and maintenance project in the House of Representatives.

“We are particularly pleased with the increased allocation under the bridge development and construction head [of the 2023/23 Estimates of Expenditure],” Warmington said then.

The bridges being targeted for reconstruction include Troy in Trelawny; Spring Village in St Catherine; Shrewsbury and Longwood, Westmoreland; Southwood in Clarendon; Llandewey in St Thomas; the border bridge linking St Elizabeth and Westmoreland; Guanaboa Vale Bridge in St Catherine; Alley Bridge in Clarendon; and Junction Bridge in St Ann.

Additional work will be done on other structures across the country, Warmington said. This will include the bridge rails at Tatchwalk in St Ann and another structure in St Mary.