Residents call for urgent repairs

Residents of Melvin Hill, St Joseph, are pleading with authorities to urgently repair the community’s main bridge after it was closed yesterday when part of the structure began collapsing.

The Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) said the closure was necessary to protect public safety. An engineering team carried out preliminary checks and cordoned off the site.

Motorists approaching from Bissex or Parks Road are advised to divert at Springfield through Blackman’s, Horse Hill, and Cox Hill, while those from Bibby’s Lane or Todd’s Corner should reroute through Chimborazo before continuing onto Horse Hill.

The bridge will remain closed until further notice.

But residents say the closure has created major disruption, with detours adding as much as half an hour to journeys and bus services thrown off course.

Christina Smith, who lives near the site, said the parish now feels isolated.

“This was the main road… The alternate road is not even the best road, but it’s the only other way to get out of the parish,” she told Barbados TODAY

Smith noted that several other roads in St Joseph have been blocked off for years without repair, leaving commuters frustrated. She urged authorities to act quickly and provide clear updates. “It’s pretty serious . . . St Joseph is feeling cut off from the rest of the country,” she said.

Member of Parliament for the area, Attorney General Dale Marshall and officials from the Ministry of Transport and Works are expected to give an update on the situation later today. (SM)