By Lara Pickford-Gordon Wednesday, November 19 2008

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Bridge work: A backhoe clears away silt and widens the watercourse of the river at the B1/12 bridge, Churchill Roosevelt Highway, Macoya, yesterday af...

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It was stress for motorists heading west and east along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway yesterday as the collapse of the B 1/12 bridge at Macoya caused them to be caught in hours of traffic yesterday morning. The situation had worsened by afternoon as heavy showers caused flooding in several parts of the east-west corridor.

The eastbound lane was closed to traffic yesterday and from the wee hours of the morning engineers and other workers from the Works Ministry were at the B1/12 bridge clearing debris from under the bridge. The bridge had severe damage on Monday after rising flood waters and an accumulation of debris (tree stumps, bamboo, plastics bottles) caused the watercourse to be clogged and the structure to crack up. By mid-morning engineers and workers from the Works Ministry were busy making preparations for a temporary bridge, the railings alongside the bridge was removed, a backhoe widened the watercourse and engineers took measurements for the bailey bridges.

An engineer on site said two Bailey bridges would be constructed at the site of the collapsed B1/12 and the old bridge deconstructed. He said the temporary structure would allow for traffic flow to resume by Friday afternoon. However, erection of a new bridge could take nine months.

A release from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management reported that the Highways Division indicated “that due to heavy rainfall there was a failure of the eastern abutment. Crews have been on the ground since 1 am removing the debris under the bridge to facilitate further assessment of the situation.”

Motorists heading east along the highway were diverted to the Macoya Road and toward the Eastern Main Road, then back to the highway via Orange Grove Road. Police manned intersections and the Ministry advised the public to follow the directions of officers.

In a release, the Ministry of Works said due to emergency work on the bridge the east bound lane between Macoya and the Golden Grove traffic lights was closed to vehicles.

It regretted the inconvenience and said it was working “to have two temporary Bailey bridges installed by mid-Friday to facilitate the east bound traffic.”

It announced that the westbound lane would be temporarily converted to allow the flow of traffic in both directions between Macoya and Orange Grove.

From 5 am to 1 pm there will be two lanes allowed heading west and one lane heading east and from 1 pm to 9 pm there will be two lanes allowed to proceed east and one lane heading west.

The ministry said motorists should comply with instructions from police officers on site and observe all directional signs in the area “to facilitate the flow of traffic in an orderly manner.”

The new traffic arrangements will last until Friday.