Overturned truck causes major traffic disruption in St Ann

Motorists were left frustrated Thursday morning after a trailer transporting bulk cement overturned in Priory, St Ann, causing severe traffic delays in both directions along the main roadway.

The trailer reportedly got out of control before dawn and overturned, damaging sections of several nearby premises. No serious injuries were reported.

The incident resulted in traffic backing up for nearly three miles in both directions, eastward toward the Mammee Bay roundabout and westward toward Runaway Bay. Traffic was also reduced to a single lane near the site of the accident.

Students arrived late to school, employees were delayed getting to work, and several travellers reportedly missed their flights.

“Two hours, 39 minutes from Plantation Cove to the Hospital, ridiculous!!!!!!” one angry female motorist posted on social media before midday.

When The Glean er contacted Acting Senior Superintendent Rohan Elliott, head of the St Ann police, around 6:30 p.m., he explained that the road could not be cleared until traffic volumes had subsided significantly.

“It’s not yet cleared. What we want to do is to have the traffic reduced to a minimum before we make any attempt to turn the truck back on its wheels because whenever that is happening the entire road area would be blocked,” Elliott said.

“We have the cranes on standby and we are just now managing the process of getting the traffic out and reduced to a minimum before we engage that process,” he added.

Elliott also revealed that speeding may have contributed to the accident.

“It would appear as if the driver was speeding because the truck was laden with cement. Cement acts like water when it’s in a tank, it wasn’t cement in bags it was in a tank, so when it came around the corner and the cement shifted it pushed it over on the side. He may have been over the limit for the weight that he was carrying.”

One taxi operator, who plies the St Ann’s Bay to Discovery Bay route, told reporters that by 2 p.m., he had only completed two trips—far fewer than his usual six or seven under normal traffic conditions.

- Carl Gilchrist

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