Heather Robinson
In 1988 I purchased a home in Hellshire Heights in St. Catherine. I lived in that house from 1991 to 2001, a total of ten years. During that time my Life of Jamaica office was in New Kingston. Prior to living in Hellshire, I lived with my mother in a home that was less than five minutes drive from my office. For ten years I consistently left Hellshire at 5:30 a.m. and got into Kingston between 6:00 and 6:15 a.m.
The extra hour that I had in the mornings gave me the opportunity to read the daily newspapers, discuss matters of national interest with my mother, and sometimes eat breakfast. Going home in the evenings or nights was another matter. Sometimes it took two to three hours, the same time it took me to drive from Hellshire to Sav-la-Mar. Many are the times when I became very frustrated, and were it not for the presence of my cellular telephone I probably would have lost my mind.
CLOSE CALL
One night while driving home in 2001 I fell asleep for about two seconds. I was awoken when I felt the jeep swerving to my left. Had I not been quick in my response, I would have ended up in the sea and probably faced one of Hellshire's protected species, the crocodile. It was this near miss that made me return to Kingston, as well as my mother's constant cajoling.
During my last five years back in Kingston, I have continued travelling to Portmore as my job requires. Sometimes I go three times per week. Once the construction of the Portmore Toll Road started, I watched its growth and development from start to finish. It reminded me of the first time I saw my dog Carlo give birth to a litter of puppies. I remember how portions of the road were built by reclaiming land.
This was a totally fascinating activity. It reminded me of Home and Garden Television (HGTV) when water features are being constructed. The base is made secure by placing a layer of thick black plastic material to prevent water from seeping through. During the early stages of construction miles and miles of black plastic (my words) were laid. They also placed pipes or some form of tubing in the ground, which were hammered into place by a piece of equipment resembling a giant jack hammer.
Driving to Portmore each week was a welcome activity, as on reaching the Freezone one got the opportunity to observe the construction from a distance. The white marl used to build the road looked like a white sand beach on the northern side, especially where it took the corner. If only the Rio Cobre did, in fact, have a white sand beach.
The construction of the six-lane bridge was sheer magic to observe. Engineering is indeed a science, and the Jamaican and French scientists worked their magic miraculously. What a feeling it provides to us to now drive over this safe and comfortable bridge.
TRAVEL IN STYLE
Having purchased my tag, I was happy to leave Barbados Avenue in New Kingston at 8.00 a.m. on Monday morning, go to Portmore and was back in New Kingston at 9:00 a.m. What a joy and pleasure. No longer do I have to wait for 9:00 a.m. for the road to be opened to two-way traffic.
Gone are the days of leaving Portmore at 5:00 a.m. Here are the days of travelling freely in comfort. Gone are the days of arthritic pains from using too much clutch, gas and brake
pedals. Welcome to civilisation and development. And we must never forget where we are coming from, and how much it cost us to get where we are today.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
