Road woes in St Catherine hills

The rains associated with tropical storm Nicole have left many persons in the upper reaches of St Catherine greatly inconvenienced.

The roads leading to many of these communities have been badly affected by land slippage and erosion.

Lives have been put on hold and even the police say their operations have been retarded.

"The roads really need to be fixed as we cannot access the communities as before to serve and protect the residents," Corporal Cleveland McCalla of the Brown's Hall station told The Gleaner.

In Garden Hill, a massive landslide has eaten up more than half the main road leaving residents of communities such as Kentish, Bellfield, Lemon Hall, Old Works and Juan de Bolas on tenterhooks.

"Work is to start urgently in Garden Hill. This one of the roads that serves as a major link in the division. There are also a number of cell sites in the area due to its height above sea level, so it is a priority linkage," Devon Wint, councillor for the Point Hill division, told The Gleaner.

He said a contract has been awarded to Brighton Engineering for work to start. The project, he said, will supervised by the National Works Agency over a projected 12-week period.

Direct employment

"I am glad that more than 40 persons will get direct employment to build gabion baskets, retaining walls and drains," Wint said.

Meanwhile, in the nearby Bellfield, the washing away of the Sandy Ground road is causing distress for many.

Persons from Marlie Hill, Bellas Gate, Wood Hall, Connors and other districts have been forced to walk miles to do their business because the roadway cannot vehicular traffics.

"The residents are suffering. Since the road cut off, even students have to be walking for miles. Those who go to work are very tired before they reach; urgent attention is needed here," Ralston 'John' Wilson, councillor of the Ginger Ridge division, said.

In the meantime, the residents of these St Catherine communities are hoping that their roads be given urgent attention. They are also hoping that further rains from this hurricane season do not worsen their plight.

The main road from Garden Hill to Juan Debolas, rural St Catherine, that has been cut off due to the recent rains associated with Nicole.