Frustration in Over River

Over River resident Donovan near the incomplete bridge inside the community. MONTEGO BAY, St James — In April, when workmen took apart the Hurricane Melissa-battered Over River Bridge, reassembled it and put it back in the spot it graced before the storm, residents thought it would only be a matter of time before life was back to normal. Months later, nothing else has been done and communities such as Sign and Hurlock remain without a direct route into Montego Bay. Burdened by the extra cost and time consumed in travelling a longer route, residents are becoming increasingly frustrated. “I sell cane and when the cars could pass, then I could carry out more. Now I have to walk with a few,” a member of the Over River community who identified himself as Donovan told the Jamaica Observer during a recent visit to the area. “We need it to fix up and put up back the right way so that vehicle can drive on it again,” he urged. Donovan was one of several people who said they have chosen to walk across the incomplete structure because the alternative, which involves travelling on Johns Hall road, is so much longer. The bridge’s metal structure once again spans the Montego River, but the abutments have not yet been completed, and there is other work needed to return the bridge to its pre-storm status. During last October’s Category 5 storm, at least 30-foot-high flood waters ripped the metal bridge from its concrete pillars. With their community cut off, residents walked through the river to get to the other side. Five months later, after engineers assessed the bridge and determined that it was largely in good condition, the plan was to return usable sections to their original location while missing components would be sourced to ensure the bridge becomes fully operational once again. A motorcyclist navigates a makeshift extension to the incomplete Over River Bridge. “They’ve been working on it for a while and then leave it and gone,” a despondent resident, Elaine said Wednesday. “Every time you see National Works Agency (NWA) come down here, them just come and look and gone and you nuh see them come back and do anymore work on it. People need to go to and from!” she insisted. While they wait impatiently, residents have tried to help themselves. Bikers took the lead, using some of the metal on site to cobble together a makeshift route. Just as frustrated at the slow pace of the work, Councillor Uvel Graham (Jamaica Labour Party, Springmount Division) said he had expected it to be completed within six weeks. Instead, three months later, he is still appealing for the bridge to be finished. “We had started it sometime ago, we have made headway in assembling the bridge but we still have the abutment to finish,” he explained. “It is taking too long and I am appealing to the powers that be to have this resolved so the citizens of Hurlock and Over River can travel to and from easily instead of going all the way around to Tucker, the Johns Hall/Estuary route which is costing more money,” he said. Graham said residents in the area are under significant stress. “Taking material into the community now costs a lot more because trucking has to go a longer distance. The terrain is difficult to travel for garbage collection,” he said. The Over River Bridge is now back to where it was before Hurricane Melissa, but there is still work to be done before it can be safely used. Graham pointed out that there is not much he can do at the local level to get the project moving faster. “Sometimes the people don’t understand it’s not our fault that the projects stop, it’s the agencies responsible for these works and also the process with the procurement and all of that which we have little control over,” he said. “It all boils down to the red tape in government, some of the things holding up projects and so that is why I go along with the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) so we can have projects speedily, start and finish,” he said. He is hopeful that there will soon be progress in Over River. “It may not happen for the Independence [holiday] but let it happen in the last part of the summer period especially with back to school coming. Everything will be set and ready for the reopening of school in September,” he said. When contacted the NWA’s Community Relations Officer for the western region, Janel Ricketts, told the Observer that they are looking to get things moving soon. “We expect that by next week the work at the bridge will start,” she promised.