HANGING IN THE BALANCE
Woodsville residents prepared to risk using bridge until authorities provide permanent fix
Published:Saturday | July 13, 2024 | 12:11 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The safety of residents in the Woodsville community in eastern Hanover hangs in the balance as they continue to use the Woodsville bridge that links their community to the rest of parish and sections of Westmoreland.
Reconstructed by members of the community over a year ago after they got no guarantee that it would be fixed by the state or its agencies, the bridge is again in need of repair following the passage of Hurricane Beryl
“The river was in spate for a while during the passing of the hurricane, the bridge is still in place but it needs some repair because what we have now is some water-soaked logs, some of them on the top is broken and under the bottom needs some reinforcement because of the severe weather that we experienced recently,” president of the Woodsville Community Development Committee (CDC), Sasha-gay Frazier, told The Gleaner during an interview.
While admitting that using the bridge is a risk residents of Woodsville and its adjoining communities have decided to take, Frazier argues that the geographical location and dynamics of the Woodsville community dictate that they (the residents) continue to use that passageway.
The bridge, which spans the Cabarita River in the Woodsville district, creates the way for residents to link with the adjoining communities, the parish capital Lucea, and sections of Westmoreland.
The wooden bridge now in place replaced a 100-year-old bridge that began to show signs of structural deficiencies in 2022. The original bridge eventually collapsed in April 2023.
“We knew the rainy season was coming but we had to do something to help ourselves as we in these parts are only remembered at certain times, and we had to alleviate some of the hardships we are facing daily,” businessman Enock Bekaroo told The Gleaner in an interview.
Expensive, burdensome
He emphasised that the alternative route stipulated by the National Works Agency (NWA) and the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) has proven expensive, burdensome, stressful and lengthy.
Buckaroo, a cooking gas supplier in the district of Woodsville, the adjoining districts of Pondside, Cold Spring, Cascade and Bath Mountain, says the construction of the wooden bridge by residents of the area allowed him to forgo any thought of increasing his commodity.
“All needs to happen is for the community to come together, as it did before, and do the necessary repairs to the bridge whenever it is needed,” he argued.
“We are the ones that live here and are feeling the burden so we just have to do what we have to do, because no matter how much we cry out it’s like no one cares about us in this area,” Frazier also told The Gleaner.
Member of Parliament for eastern Hanover, the constituency in which the Woodsville area falls, Dave Brown, told The Gleaner that he has done all the necessary representation and the construction of a proper bridge is now in the hands of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and the NWA.
“In all fairness the bridge need to be up and running, but the community that is mostly affected has to be a bit patient because of the process,” he stated.
“I know that the NWA had done a design, but the first design that they had done was unsuitable because of the flow of the river, I do not know how they did not notice that before, so they had to redesign and then send it to tender,” he stated, noting that the redesign has only added to the wait time.
He argued that once the design goes to tender or procurement he has no more control over the matter. He said that he will be doing some follow-up with the NWA in the days to come, while he continues to lobby.
In the meantime, the patience of residents seem to be running out, as their daily problems surrounding bad road conditions and the bridge continue to be a burden.
Arlene McKenzie-Pugh, who represented the community at a recent SPARK consultation held in Hopewell, Hanover, told The Gleaner that a few planks were dislodged from the community-built bridge due to the overflowing of the Cabarita River during hurricane Beryl, but vehicles are still using it and the residents are prepared to do the necessary repairs.
“We are glad that schools are out now, so parents do not have to worry about the safety of the children and their using the bridge, but the parents still have to use it to go about their daily business,” she stated.