By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

HOURS after an accident in which a car overturned at a busy Nassau intersection where the traffic lights have not been working for more than a month, engineers restored the signals to operation yesterday.

Motorists blamed the failure of Shirley Street and Kemp Road intersection’s stoplight for an early morning traffic accident which resulted in an SUV being tipped onto its side. A number of drivers who take the westbound route into Nassau as a part of their daily commute and nearby residents had raised concerns about the non-functioning lights but were frustrated that nothing had been done in recent weeks.

One driver vented his concern through a post on The Tribune’s website which read: “Let’s not forget the stoplight at Kemp (Road) and Shirley (Street) which claimed a few more victims this morning, the light’s only been out for close to two months.”

Last week The Tribune was told by an official at the Road Traffic Department – which falls under the umbrella of the Ministry of Transport and Aviation – that reports of the failure of the lights had been received and forwarded to the relevant personnel at the Department of Works in the Ministry of Works. But subsequent calls to the Department of Works for an official statement proved unsuccessful.

Yesterday, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna Martin told reporters that the traffic light and all of its related repairs were the responsibility of the Ministry of Works. She said she was in contact with Ross Smith, the Road Traffic Controller, who had informed her that his department would dispatch a team to the area to assess the matter.

By the evening rush hour, the traffic light at the intersection was back in operation.

Yesterday’s accident occurred around 7.20am and caused tailbacks. The car overturned on Kemp Road on the north side of Shirley Street.