Motorists battle bumpy Spanish Town Road
Published:Thursday | June 3, 2021 | 12:15 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
As vehicles slowed to descend into yawning craters along Spanish Town Road on Tuesday, fumes seemed to billow not only from mufflers but from the snorting nostrils of motorists.
Sections of the corridor, which channels eastbound traffic into Jamaica’s capital Kingston and is a key node linking the rural south coast, have been transformed into a worksite since the start of a massive pipe-laying exercise geared towards improving water supply in the city.
But a distance away from the nucleus of the pipeline works, closer to the examination depot, the ragged road is perhaps a truer test of endurance than the smoother surface on which inspectors drive.
St Andrew South West Member of Parliament Angela Brown Burke said she wished she could wave a magic wand and have the deplorable patch fixed in front of her constituency office on Spanish Town Road.
But the opposition lawmaker believes that things will get even worse before repairs are undertaken by the National Water Commission (NWC), which is spearheading the US$25-million project.
“We are aware of the condition of the road. We have been in discussion with NWC, with the minister with responsibility as well as it relates to that particular road,” Brown Burke told The Gleaner.
“It is a major thoroughfare, so the truth is, the condition is worrisome because we have so many motorists going through there. When the rain falls, it is horrible ... .”
Public and private transport operators expressed disgust on Tuesday as their vehicles creaked under pressure.
SUFFERING FAR TOO LONG
One motorist said that he has had to purchase lots of parts over the more than two years the road has been in shambles even before the pipeline project began.
Another said the suffering has gone on for far too long.
“The MP office deh right deh suh. Yuh know how much vehicle lick up. Weh dem a wait pon fi fix it?” said another motorist.
The St Andrew South police informed The Gleaner that the state of the roadway has contributed to several collisions, with the latest crash occurring on Tuesday.
Brown Burke, who won the St Andrew South West seat in the autumn of 2017, traverses the corridor often and referenced it in her May 19 Sectoral Debate presentation.
“It is not just a sore eye; it is a risk to pedestrians as well as motorists. It is damaging people’s front end,” Brown Burke said.
Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the National Works Agency, said that the roadway was undermined by the heavy rains that walloped the island in October and November 2020.
He said the erosion of the surface was partly linked to a recurring drainage problem.
“There’s a body of water that comes on to the road. We’ve gone to market to get something significant,” said Shaw, adding that he could not give a timeline or costing for the repairs.
Brown Burke said that her only comfort was that her constituents would benefit from the 15-month pipe-laying project, which is scheduled to end in February 2022.
The contract was awarded to M&M Jamaica Limited.
“The deterioration of the road has only made it worse and more dangerous for pedestrians and motorists. I have driven through it, so I know, you are trying to find a path that is probably going to be least destructive to your vehicle and I know that traffic is coming from both directions,” Brown Burke said.
Andrew Canon, corporate public relations manager for the NWC, said on Wednesday that the project was within budget and on schedule.
He said that major works of this nature would inevitably cause delays and dislocation to the motoring public.
“We have so far implemented measures to minimise the impact of the delays, such as coordinating the traffic flow along designated lanes, disseminating information about traffic changes on traditional and social media, and having requisite signs that highlight the changes,” said Canon.