East rural St Andrew 'tyres' of mending own roads
Published:Tuesday | October 5, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
Several old truck tyres, which might have travelled many miles in their lifetime, are now being called upon to restore hope to hundreds of residents in Hall's Delight, Roberts' Field and other communities in east rural St Andrew.
The tyres are now old, bald and being laid to rest; but not carelessly. Four men are precariously placed deep in a section of what was once the Roberts' Field Road.
A section of the road, which provides connectivity for approximately 1,000 residents in five communities in the cool, rustic hillside, has fallen into the Yallahs River below.
"This is the second time in two years we a repair it wi self," one resident told The Gleaner.
The repair work he speaks of is not for the faint of heart. The 'community-based engineers' are lowered by rope to the bottom of the breakaway, which is about 30 feet deep. The only tools they have are spades and the material with which they work are of two kinds - old tyres and sand.
"By tomorrow, wi expect to access the community again," one man told The Gleaner after being asked if the road would be ready by Christmas.
Marooned
Rains associated with the system which became Tropical Storm Nicole last week led to the collapse of the roadway. Several residents were left marooned in the area.
"We need representation. The MP (member of parliament) will have to come in or the works agency or somebody to come and help us," Roland said.
He opined that if the authorities construct a wall close to the river, it would preserve the road and spare residents the trauma of being cut off.
"Every storm that we have wash away the road here. We need a permanent solution," he said.
Joseph Hibbert, the parliamentary representative for the area, told The Gleaner yesterday that the effort to improve access to the residents is primarily led by the community.
"They are the ones that are doing it. They have done it before by using the tyres and filling them to provide a temporary solution," Hibbert said.
"As long as the bigger units do not use it, then it will last for a period of time," added Hibbert, a former state minister and chief technical officer in the works ministry.
Permanent solution
He told The Gleaner that a permanent solution in the form of a retaining wall has been designed for the area but would not make any commitment as to when constructions would start.
In the meantime, the community-based engineers in the area are not waiting until established contractors turn up with heavy-duty equipment and cement, stone and gravel.
One by one, they pack the old tyres and fill them with sand which is being dumped by a community truck. The residents say they are used to rebuilding their roads that way and they are certain their 'engineers' will deliver yet again.
'This is the second time in two years we a repair (the road) wi self.'