BELCO says the emergency response required a crew of up to 12 people working for roughly 17 hours
The early morning commute came as a relief today after Harbour Road finally reopened following Wednesday night’s collision.
Huge lines of traffic were seen yesterday during both rush hours, with commuters reporting on social media journey times of up to three hours.
The source of the gridlock: a late-night crash that snapped a BELCO utility pole in half. The incident forced the closure of a stretch of Harbour Road in Paget between Lover’s Lane and Chapel Road.
According to police, the female driver was arrested for driving while impaired and will appear in court in the coming days.
BELCO says the emergency response required a crew of up to 12 people working for roughly 17 hours. The roadway eventually reopened around 1:30 this morning.
BELCO Managing Director Shelly Leman said: “Our crews worked around the clock to restore both power and road access to commuters. This was a complex emergency response that required immediate action to ensure public safety while restoring essential services.”
Crews completed restoration work by about 11:30 last night, installing a new utility pole and transferring conductors. But the road remained closed until other utilities completed their repairs just after 1 am.
BELCO also acknowledged the significant inconvenience caused by the closure, and thanked residents for their patience and cooperation with traffic diversions.
Still, the gridlock has raised new questions about Bermuda’s traffic management during major incidents.
Bermuda Broadcasting reached out to the Ministry of Public Works and other authorities for comment and explanation, and we will be following up next week.
In the meantime, BELCO says it will pursue accountability. A spokesperson stated: “BELCO will work collaboratively with relevant authorities to ensure appropriate accountability regarding this incident and to pursue fair compensation for the emergency response costs and resources deployed.”
