It may take up to six weeks before return to normal traffic in St Ann, says official

Motorists traversing roadways in St Ann could face up to six weeks of delays before normalcy returns, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on Tuesday.

The storm battered the parish — blocking roads, flattening trees and utility poles, flooding communities, destroying homes, and forcing dozens of people into shelters.

"We should have the main thoroughfare cleared within a two-week period; however, [getting] back to normal, we're anticipating upwards of six weeks," Tracy Fakhourie, NEPM Waste Management Limited’s regional operations manager, told The Gleaner on Wednesday.

Fakhourie led her team in clearing several roadways in Ocho Rios, enabling better traffic flow, even as several routes — including Fern Gully — remained impassable.

Several utility poles fell across roadways, limiting the passage of vehicular traffic to a single lane.

Trees also fell across roads, forcing vehicles to drive underneath; utility poles leaned precariously, giving chills to motorists caught in traffic jams, wondering if the poles would eventually give way and damage their vehicles.

Men with power saws struggled with the magnitude of the work they were tackling, while hustlers cleared roads and solicited — or even demanded — that motorists pay a fee to pass. Residents wondered when electricity, which went out at 12:30 on Tuesday, and running water would return.

Fakhourie said that while the damage to infrastructure in the coastal regions might have been less than what last year’s storm, Beryl, caused, it was a different story in the inner regions of the parish.

"Compared to Beryl, we have sections of the region that are worse. However, this part of the Ocho Rios bypass is not that badly affected. Because of Beryl, a lot of trees had fallen, a lot of cutting had taken place, so that has reduced the damage that we’re seeing now. But in the interior areas — the deeper rural areas — the road network is significantly blocked."

Roadblocks and significant delays affected Fern Gully, Ocho Rios to St Ann’s Bay, Ocho Rios to Tower Isle in St Mary, and several other areas.

Fakhourie urged caution on the roads.

"And where you can help someone, render some assistance. Where you can stop and move something out of the roadway, I’d appreciate the help," Fakhourie said.

- Carl Gilchrist

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.