OTTO CARRINGTON
Senior Reporter
otto.carrington@cnc3.co.tt
Chaguanas Mayor Faaiq Mohammed says by the end of this week, a plan will be put in place to repair or replace a bridge along Perseverance Road in Chaguanas.
The mayor met with Chief Traffic Engineer Adande Piggott, along with other officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport, on Tuesday.
Residents have been complaining that the closure of the bridge has been causing significant traffic issues in Chaguanas and surrounding communities.
While this has been happening, there was also a debate over ownership of the bridge and whose responsibility it is to fix.
However, Mohammed said in the meeting, the ministry confirmed the bridge was under its jurisdiction.
“A councillor asked a question that led to Mr Anande Pigott clarifying that Perseverance Road and the bridge fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works,” the mayor said.
Last week, the surface of the bridge partially collapsed, forcing motorists to find alternative routes.
This has resulted in severe traffic congestion along the Southern Main Road and other routes in and out of central Trinidad.
But Mohammed said help is on the horizon.
“The first solution is to launch a single-lane Bailey bridge with traffic lights. The second solution is to build in place, meaning they will repair the damage to the existing bridge and have it reopened. By the end of this week, the Ministry of Works will decide which course of action they will choose,” he explained.
New traffic plans were implemented on Monday in an attempt to alleviate the congestion. These included turning off traffic lights near Factory Road and Ramsaran Street and deploying traffic wardens.
But, the mayor said some of these measures have proven insufficient.
“Additional traffic wardens will be deployed to the Factory Road and Southern Main Road Junction to manage the flow of traffic. I suggested that the Ministry of Works consider creating an access point onto the northbound highway from Factory Road. The reason for this is that most of the people who use that roadway try to get onto the current Savannah Road to access the highway,” Mohammed said.
He hopes the situation will improve in time for the reopening of the new school term come September.