ALTHOUGH joint army and police patrols were still posted at strategic points along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway yesterday, the barricades were removed almost one full day ahead of schedule.

According to official releases from the National Secretariat of the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the lockdown from Piarco International Airport to Wrightson Road, Port of Spain, was expected to be in effect up until 12 noon today.

However, as early as 4 p.m. yesterday, the barricades were removed and traffic was allowed to proceed along the west-bound lane of the highway unimpeded. Traffic cones were still placed along the east-bound highway to create a two-way partition, but that was no longer used as traffic police waved vehicles through both sides of the east bound roadway.

Barricades blocking the off-ramp joining the north bound Solomon Hochoy Highway to the west bound Churchill Roosevelt Highway, in the vicinity of Grand Bazaar, Valsayn, were removed by 4.30 p.m. yesterday.

Though restrictions were still in place in sections of Port of Spain, portable barricades were removed and only heavy concrete barricades were left. Despite the continued strong police presence, access routes to the Hyatt Regency Hotel and the Port of Port of Spain were once again opened to traffic. It was learnt that the initial extension of the lockdown period to today was part of a contingency plan to facilitate any lingering dignitaries. However, most of the key dignitaries, among the United States President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, had left before 4 p.m. yesterday.

This final lifting of the zonal restrictions brought the heightened security for Fifth Summit of the America to a close.