PNP candidate warns residents not to use shuttered Cox Street Bridge

In light of the Cox Street Bridge in Port Maria, St Mary being closed due to structural damage, People's National Party (PNP) candidate for Central St Mary, Omar Newell, is appealing to several residents to not risk their lives and use the structure.

Newell is appealing to them to use alternative routes that are available to them.

The bridge serves the communities of Trinity Land, Albion Mountain and Cox Street, and is critical in helping to manage traffic flowing through the town of Port Maria during busy periods, especially the Christmas season.

However, on Thursday the NWA announced the closure of the bridge with immediate effect, due to structural damage which has rendered the facility unsafe for use by motorists. 

"This follows persistent rainfall that has been impacting sections of the island since the passing of Tropical Storm Raphael," said a release from NWA.

It said its technical team has been conducting the necessary damage assessment with a view to having the situation remedied in short order.

A collapsed section of the Cox Steet Bridge in Port Maria, St Mary late last week.

During the period of closure, the NWA said motorists travelling from the direction of Annotto Bay towards Cox Street may travel via Stennett Street, before making a left turn onto Cox Street (in the vicinity of Courts Jamaica Limited).

Motorists travelling from the Oracabessa direction towards Cox Street may travel via Stennett Street, before making a right turn on to Cox Street (in the vicinity of the St Mary Municipal Corporation building).

For his part, Newell took to his X (formerly Twitter) platform to warn residents that aside from a large hole in the bridge, there are also cracks on the other side of the structure.

"It's better for you to be late to work or going home than for us to have to come and send somebody to rescue you from this bridge," Newell warned.

Meanwhile, he said he was told that the bridge is over 100 years old and has probably outlived its useful life.

"So I'm appealing to the authorities to give some urgent attention to this bridge so that some normalcy can be restored," he stated.