Breakaway pain
St Ann SW residents plead for repairs as Warmington-led team assesses damage
Published:Friday | November 18, 2022 | 12:27 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
The Government is set to restore nine breakaways along roadways in St Ann South Western, according to de facto Works Minister Everald Warmington.
Warmington made the announcement on Wednesday following a tour of the road network in the constituency. Member of Parliament (MP) Zavia Mayne, members from the National Works Agency, and other officials were also among the touring party.
Warmington said that the majority of the roads in the areas he visited were in good condition and did not require much attention.
However, he stressed that action must be taken immediately to address the breakaways, which are impacting the ease of travel along some corridors.
“Those we are going to address right away because unless we address these problems, it [will] break out into a bigger situation, so I intend to, as soon as the team in St Ann scope these and send them into the NWA (National Works Agency) in the ministry, I’ll address them,” he said.
The tour spanned Laughton Town, Borobridge, Cuffie Ridge, Mount Moriah, Battersea, Cave Valley, Greenock, Halifax, and Alexandria, with breakaways seen along a section of the Borobridge main road, White Sand Road, and White Lane.
Marleen Thompson, councillor caretaker for the Borobridge division, told The Gleaner that breakaways resulted from land slippages triggered by heavy rains associated with Hurricane Ian and Tropical Storm Lisa.
Wild Cane district, Mount Moriah, Cascade, John Reid district, Coffie Ridge, and Aenon Town are among other areas where breakaways have occurred.
Locals who spoke with The Gleaner stated that the White Sand Road’s breakaway has been there for more than two years.
They further lamented that whenever it rains, water settles on the road surface and accelerates the deterioration.
As the touring party travelled along the roadway, residents chanted, “We want di road fi fix!”
Warmington stated that the $53-million estimate for repairs to the Cascade breakaway, which was done some time ago, would be approved.
He also said that the estimated $167-million project to repair breakaways from Mount Moriah to Battersea would be completed in two stages.
“The team in St Ann is now scoping the thing for phase one and phase two. Once that is completed, then I will move on to it as such,” said the minister.
“One area of concern, however, is the Alexandria to Brown’s Town main road that I am a little dissatisfied with the surface itself,” he continued, pointing to a roadway that was rehabilitated four years ago.
He said that the road surface should not have deteriorated that badly in such a short time and instructed a team to identify and scope the sections along the roadway in need of correction in order to prevent further degradation.
For his part, MP Mayne welcomed the planned works, noting that the residents would be grateful for the financial commitments made.
“Importantly, for us as a constituency, there were certain operational challenges that we were having because we had roads in our constituency that even though they fall within St Ann, we were always told that they were ... within the jurisdiction of Clarendon in one instance and Trelawny in the other instance, and with minister coming, we were able to put it to him,” Mayne said, noting that Warmington dealt with those matters on the tour.