Idyllic scenery ... appalling roads
Published:Sunday | February 6, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
BAD ROADS are spoiling what would otherwise be an idyllic trip from Yallahs in St Thomas to Manchioneal in Portland.
The journey from Kingston to Yallahs presented the expected obstacles, including the area of Harbour View in St Andrew where a new bridge is being constructed and the roadway being widened.
Through the winding roads in Bull Bay into St Thomas, the bad roads continued but that was no surprise.
Beyond the Yallahs bridge, the beauty of the countryside could easily charm any traveller into a state of utopia. But the real challenges take charge near Pond View Estates where potholes punctuate the road surface.
In Phampret, potholes form polka-dot patterns along the roadway, while Roselle has two big patches where the asphalt cover has been eroded by the sea water as it delivers its daily bath to what is left of the surface.
"Is about three years now this stay so and it is destroying we vehicles and then the police want to take them off the road saying them defective," said the driver of one of the many taxis which ply the route.
Into Morant Bay and the cooling sea breeze makes driving without air condition a pleasure despite the furious mid-morning sun. But then, approaching the Morant Bay Shopping Plaza, it is again time to play hopscotch with huge potholes.
Into Leith Hall, the road surface has disappeared leaving little more than a dirt track in some areas.
Near the Leith Hall fishing beach, there is a pool of stagnant water on one side of the road, forcing every motorist to share the side which should have been for vehicles heading towards Morant Bay.
The beauty of the rural countryside becomes more apparent as we head into Port Morant, with the number of vehicles getting fewer but there is no escaping the potholes. In one area, there is a minor gully going straight across the road.
In the historic Golden Grove community, some areas remind us more of a gully track than a roadway, particularly in the vicinity of the community park.
The pleasant smiles and the welcome given by the residents of Golden Grove make stopping at the corner shops and the bars a pleasure before it's back on the road and headed to Amity Hall.
recently resurfaced
There is time to smile as we approach the Portland-St Thomas border where some of the roadway were recently resurfaced.
On to Hector's River where potholes dot the landscape once again. In fact, in some areas, it is more like a riverbed than a paved road.
At the doorway to our destination, Manchioneal - the beauty of the Caribbean Sea on our right begs us to pull over and have a dip but there is need for caution as the potholes jump out at odd moments.
Metres from the Manchioneal All-Age School, it's one-lane traffic as the other side of the road has been taken over by some huge water-filled craters.
Arriving at our destination in good time and preparing for a return trip, we accept that there are worse roads in the interior of the two east-coast parishes but the main road from Yallahs to Manchioneal is well in need of attention if the Government is serious about opening up the area to tourism.