Slow pace of St Thomas roadwork angers residents

Omar Ryan, an advocate for the development of St Thomas, said he is sometimes moved to tears while driving in sections of the parish which is riddled with potholes and trenches caused by work being done under the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project.

Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, Ryan said that while he appreciates that the roads are being improved, he is dissatisfied with the manner in which the work is being carried out.

"If I was the MP, I couldn't allow that kind of road work to happen, especially eastern St Thomas. There are lots of schools, churches and that's where the hospital is, and you cannot have an emergency and get to the hospital. The road to get there is so atrocious, it brings pain. I cry sometimes when I am travelling there," he said.

"It's like you are hungry and ask for food and they give you chicken back, they won't give you the real thing. We ask for road and is like they give us the road and they don't care about the comfort and time that is being consumed by their work. They are not in any haste because in the Morant Bay area, the place is like that for about three years now," Ryan added. The road condition forces motorists to travel at a snail's pace, causing traffic delays. There is also a dust nuisance.

"The contractors need to hasten the work that they are doing. Drop some sand or gravel to make the travelling more comfortable for people. You have some big holes in the road and it doesn't make sense to fix the road and don't business how people travel. The productivity time of people decreases significantly because of how the road is being done," Ryan explained.

In March, residents held a peaceful protest in Morant Bay to air their discomfort with the roadwork. Member of Parliament for East St Thomas, Dr Michelle Charles, urged residents to weather the temporary discomfort while stating that the outcome will be worthwhile. However, Gladstone Baker, a taxi driver who plies the Morant Bay to Yallahs route said the bad roads have caused him to dig deeply into his pockets to repair his Toyota Probox.

"Dem shoulda fix di road in sections instead of digging up the entire place. The amount a times mi have to fix the front end dem it nuh normal. It usually take a hour from Yallahs to Morant Bay but now it take much longer and is the same fare. On top of that yuh body jerk up by the time yuh reach yuh destination. So imagine a taxi man who a run round trip all day," Baker said.

Michael Smith, another cabbie who plies the same route, said another protest may be in the works.

"We can't drive inna river bed because a nuh road dis. Di way dem ya hole ya big, when mi car drop inna dem, a half a di car mi can see. We have to drive really slow and dat can make yuh crash too. Di odda day mi a drive and a doze mi start doze off. Is a passenger mii feel touch mi inna mi side. The way mi frighten mi nuh go back a road fi di day," Smith said.