A view of the pothole-riddled Salt Spring Road in Montego Bay, St. James. Contributed photos

What's not working?

The colloquial usage of the word 'salt', often referring to unfavourable circumstances, is used without reservation when motorists speak about the Salt Spring Road in Montego Bay, St. James.

Potholes, cracks, craters and ditches ravage this road from top to bottom.

Synopsis of the situation

The worst thing to tell taxi operators plying the Green Pond, Cornwall Courts and Salt Spring routes is that they need to travel the entire stretch of Salt Spring Road for you to reach your destination. The damage that will be incurred to the vehicle will far outweigh the fare.

One motorist, 'Richard', who was seen at one of the many mechanic shops along Salt Spring Road in the vicinity of the Glendevon Health Centre, said: "Every week mi affi fix something on mi car. Look at that (pointing to a mechanic repairing a spring blade), is a couple weeks ago I fixed that and see I have to be fixing it again this week.

"I live here over 30 years and I always remember this section of the road as being bad! The only thing I see dem do is patch out some pothole couple years ago. Other than that it just keep getting worse."

At the lower section of the Salt Spring Road, popularly referred to as Visions, after the popular car-care facility located there, the horrible state of the road is at its full potential.

Motorists slow to a snail's pace to successfully make their way through the obstacle course.

Who's responsible?

The St. James Parish Council.

What's the status?

Several attempts to get comment from the Road and Works Department at the parish council were unsuccessful. Tubal Brown, superintendent of road and works, was said to be on leave. Meanwhile, efforts to contact the Acting Superintendent, Bryce Grant, proved futile. The secretary either said they were off the compound or in meetings.

Several messages were left regarding the nature of our calls. However, the council failed to respond.

Conclusion

It is sad that the parish council did not comment on the issue because the Salt Spring Road is desperately in need of repair.On the other hand, one could almost guess what the response would be like. It has been a response that we have been getting regularly from parish councils islandwide whenever they are contacted regarding road repairs.

We cry shame on the St. James Parish Council. This is a major thoroughfare that is utilised by almost everyone in Montego Bay. How can you not address the condition of the road? The bottom line is this: The Salt Spring Road must be fixed. No excuses, no apologies!

- Marlon Vickerman, Gleaner Writer