Motorists advised to cautiously navigate signalised roadways impacted by Hurricane Beryl

The police are advising motorists to be careful when approaching signalised roadways damaged by the passing of Hurricane Beryl.

The powerful category four hurricane's eye passed just 45 miles south of Kingston, leaving many Jamaicans without electricity.

The outages have also affected several traffic signals.

Head of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), Assistant Commissioner of Police Gary McKenzie, said personnel have been deployed to maintain order in areas where traffic signals are not in service.

“One of the things that we have been doing is to monitor our major intersections. Where there is a lot of traffic, we have sought to take control of those major intersections and control traffic in other areas. We try to be present to ensure that traffic flows freely and that there is order,” McKenzie said.

“At this particular time, there is debris, there is silt, there is some amount of waste material that is on the roadway, and this could prove very difficult to manoeuvre, especially to motorcyclists,” he pointed out.

Consequently, McKenzie urges motorists to ensure they navigate the roadways with extreme caution.

“The necessity to be careful cannot be overstated. We recognise that electricity is out, not only where intersections are concerned, but as it relates to streetlights and within some communities. So during the night, we try to occupy strategic points along the highways and main thoroughfares to ensure that we are visible and are able to assist motorists in the case of emergencies,” the senior policeman said.

McKenzie advised that the police will continue to monitor the roadways in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl's passage.

“We continue to sweep the streets to ensure that if there are any obstructions, we can continue communicating with the National Works Agency. We are very much in touch still with ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management) and other key partners so that, where we have situations that need to be dealt with, then we deal with them,” the PSTEB chief said.

- JIS News

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