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The Guaibanó bridge, located in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur in Guantánamo, has experienced a partial collapse for the past two months and lacks proper signage and lighting, endangering the lives of drivers and local residents who travel this route daily.
The official newspaper Venceremos reported this Sunday that the rupture hinders circulation on one of the lanes of the bridge, which is not marked in any direction and, moreover, lacks lighting at night, posing a serious risk to the transit of vehicles and pedestrians.
"This is an agricultural area with heavy traffic from cars, tractors, trucks of various sizes, animal-drawn carts, motorcycles, and others, which increases the risk of accidents, especially at night due to the lack of proper lighting in that location," he noted.
According to the report, the damage was initially caused by flooding from the intense rains of Tropical Storm Imelda on September 29, and subsequently by Hurricane Melissa in October.
Since then, neither a warning sign nor lighting has been installed along the road, despite it being an agricultural area with heavy traffic from motor vehicles and carts.
Although Venceremos warned about the danger of the damaged bridge, it stated that "its solution will not be immediate" and cited as a reason the excuse that the government always has on hand: "the well-known limitations of material resources imposed on us by the blockade".
Sticking to the official script, the newspaper only dared to question whether the time elapsed since the hurricane had been “sufficient to place at least one sign warning of the danger” there.
In light of the indifference and disregard from the authorities, the farmers, drivers, and other residents of Guaibanó, including children who have to cross the bridge to go to and from the school, remain at risk of being involved in an accident.
At the end of September, the persistent rains from Storm Imelda caused the overflow of rivers and streams in municipalities such as San Antonio del Sur, Caimanera, Yateras, and Imías in Guantánamo, resulting in severe flooding that obstructed traffic and left several communities isolated.
A month later, the road infrastructure in the eastern provinces of Cuba suffered severe damage due to the rising rivers and flooding from the torrential rains brought by the powerful Hurricane Melissa. Bridges, roads, and buildings are still waiting for repairs.
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