This vehicle avoids potholes on the road from Dressikie to Jacks River, St Mary. By Garwin Davis,
Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
POOR ROAD conditions throughout Jamaica's coastal towns are a nightmare for motorists, many of whom have been venting their frustration in recent weeks through protests and roadblocks.
During the past week, several roadblocks were mounted in sections of St. Mary, St. Ann and Trelawny, where angry motorists disrupted traffic, leaving stranded for hours, other road users, including tour buses carrying overseas visitors. Also, the roadblocks forced the cancellation of many attraction tours much to the chagrin of tour operators who had to make refunds to disappointed tourists.
"It is unbelievable that these people would do this to the tourism industry," remarked an angry Brigitte Moenkemeuller, owner of Safari Tours which operates from Ocho Rios. "If you are upset with the road conditions, which we all are, go and block the road in front of the prime minister's residence but don't inconvenience innocent people."
Ms. Moenkemeuller said there were many disappointed visitors who had to cancel their pre-booked tours and rejoin their ships.
But the roadblockers, in justifying their actions, said the road conditions have become so intolerable that they were left with no choice but to do something that would get the attention of the authorities.
"All the main roads leading from Ocho Rios through Falmouth and into Montego Bay are really embarrassing," said Anthony Moulton, taxi driver. "I don't think it is a matter of wanting to disrupt the flow of traffic or inconvenience anybody but this is the only way we can get the attention of the authorities." Minister of Transport Dr. Peter Phillips, Minister of Transport and Works, who toured several resort towns last week, said the government was planning to begin work immediately on some of the roads.
"We recognise the damage to the roads caused by recent flood and are currently doing an assessment of the situation", Dr. Phillips said. "It has been a while since we have seen this sort of devastation and quite a lot of work needs to be done to which we are fully committed."
He said a comprehensive plan regarding the construction and maintenance of proper drains would have to be put in place to better be able to protect the roads from future flooding.
But some protesters charge that shoddy work by road contractors was the real reason for the poor state of the roads and are demanding accountability from the minister.
"If it is not one thing, it is another," lamented Derron Wood, a Port Antonio businessman. "The roads in the resort areas have now become a minefield and I am afraid things will get worse before we start seeing any kind of improvement. If trying to avoid stray cattle wasn't enough at night, now we have to be bobbing and weaving from potholes."
Milton Hodelin, director of maintenance, National Works Agency, said a lot of money has been spent on road maintenance and there was no way to guard against the type of flooding that the resort towns experienced recently . "We see these sort of damage to our roads and it would appear as if it is because of neglect," he said. "The truth is that these kinds of disasters are rare and are very difficult to plan for."
