Overpass works trigger gridlock

Vehicles were stuck in heavy traffic heading east out of Port of Spain this morning with motorists taking hours to reach Morvant Junction.

The Priority Bus Route, Eastern Main Road, and the Lady Young Road were all clogged due to the temporary closure of part of the Beetham Highway between the NP Flyover and South Quay on Wrightson Road. This was necessary to facilitate the placement of the Sea Lots Pedestrian Overpass superstructure.

Dredging work also took place along the Beetham river.

Police officers were on hand to assist the flow of traffic but very little was able to be done. One maxi taxi driver said the traffic started building around 6 am and got progressively worse as the hours passed and more cars entered the fray.

By 12.30 pm, traffic was backed up along Independence Square.