Long Hill Road a threat to users

Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer

MOUNT INDUSTRY, St Catherine:

BAD ROADS are eyesores in many communities across Jamaica. Sometimes, the imminent danger that accompanies them incites the wrath of residents, compelling the relevant authorities to effect repairs.

But Dennis Smith believes that roadways - like the Long Hill Road in Mount Industry, St Catherine - which pose a threat to the lives of those who use them should be repaired - expeditiously.

"This road break away from Hurricane Ivan (2004) and it is dangerous. At night, you have to take time and screechy pass, cause you no want buck you toe and fall over the gully. Car wheels drop over the wall there so already," Smith explained.

But, as 48-year-old Owen Lewis told The Gleaner, it wasn't only the people in the car that almost met their demise.

"A girl drop over there one night, and the persons she was walking with take her out. So we have to get together and put up street lights, because we never have any street light and that made it even more dangerous, but every minute the bulb blow," Lewis said, seemingly happy to see Roojae Kirlew, president of Mount Industry Youth and Civic Association, who was guiding our news team on a tour of the community.

Upon learning of our visit to the community, residents gathered not only to voice their concern, but their dissatisfaction with those in authority, who they said visited and took notes, but failed to act.

Lewis, a grandfather, is particularly worried about the safety of the young ones.

"The schoolchildren pass and you know say dem have a lot of energy and dem always a play. We, the adults, always have to look out for dem to see to it that dem pass straight because dem always a stop a look over and a play round the edges, so we are concerned," expressed Lewis.

Citizens' strategy

The citizens have started to devise their own strategy to do corrective work.

"We get sand to try to do a little thing. We want to lift up this section and try to pave it to the height of a wall to see if we can get a little more width, but after a time we say it no make no sense," explained Lewis. "But the church and some business people working out how best they do some repairs."

But the problem is not unique to Long Hill Road, as a similar situation exists in Bamboo's Ridge.

"A large section of the roadway has collapsed some four, five years now, so what the community members have done is to dig off the bank in order for vehicles to still drive over, which is very, very dangerous," Kirlew updated our news team.

Hazardous

When we got to the area, we were met by Vincent Burke who traverses the route daily to and from his farm.

"A whole heap a stick under there so," he explained to The Gleaner, pointing to a section of the sidewalk adjacent to a gully which citizens dug off to create more space, "and a guy name Normie carry some metal thing from Portmore come put right there, so that vehicle can go through. One of the time a little boy drop right over there," the concerned 57-year-old farmer lamented. Furthermore, the breakaway has severely hampered the cultivators in transporting their produce out of the community.

But Gregory Mair, member of parliament (MP) for North East St Catherine, told The Gleaner that while he was cognisant of the damage to that particular road, an even more complex situation existed.

Nevertheless, Mair said he has commenced discussions with the National Works Agency (NWA) with a view of finding a solution.

"Now the problem where you have Bamboo's Ridge, there is a breakaway that has gone bad and further down there is another breakaway, which is really bad, and further up there is a makeshift road to reach Omeally, between Omeally and Lucky Valley, there is a massive breakaway ... so I am telling them (the NWA) to build the road from Harkers Hall to Morris Hall coming up to Omeally right through Bamboo's Ridge into Mount Industry," he explained.

If that is done, farmers like Burke could take their produce to Harkers Hall, then to Bog Walk, Linstead or Spanish Town, without hassle.

Mair also reported that corrective measures had been taken towards the Goffe road, which goes into Glengoffe and was damaged during Tropical Storm Nicole.

"We have done three walls along there already, and we need to do another three or four. Under the JDIP (Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme) programme, we are going to be doing from Williamsfield bridge going up to Mount Industry, down into Glengoffe and that is road and wall," the MP explained.

rural@gleanerjm.com