Warner: Cocorite walkover elevators will be fixed soon

Works Minister Jack Warner says the walkover elevators close to Powder Magazine housing development are to be fixed shortly. He was responding to claims by Diego Martin Central MP Dr Amery Browne the elevators never worked since being installed.

They were installed during a special ceremony at the Diego Martin Highway, Cocorite, on August 27, 2010. They were put there at a cost of $1.2 million by the Ministry of Works’ Programme for Upgrading of Roads Efficiency (PURE). They are intended for use by the disabled and senior citizens.

In a statement on Monday, Browne said they “failed to work right after the grand (installation) ceremony and remain completely inoperable to this day.” He said residents of Cocorite, including the disabled and the elderly, still have to “dodge oncoming traffic to cross the highway.”

He said the shafts have been left completely open and were a “grave and ongoing threat to the safety of all users of the walkover, including children.” Browne said he wrote to Works and Infrastructure Minister Jack Warner and Minister of the People and Social Development, Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, to deal with the problem but to no avail.

He described the project as just another public relations exercise on the part of the People’s Partnership Government. Contacted yesterday, Warner said it was incorrect to claim the elevators never worked. He said he was aware of the need to repair them. Warner said “a part” was being imported to fix the problem and they should be operational again shortly.