Rural villagers plead for gov’t help after roadway crumbles

Residents of McGlashen in St Andrew are calling for quick action by the government to fix the massive breakaway on the main road in their community, which lies along the route between Golden Spring and Mount Airy.

Persistent heavy rainfall in recent days caused the major road collapse on Saturday, leaving residents of the rural community in a quandary.

They blame the lack of maintenance of the roadways over the years, coupled with increased rainfall caused by climate change, for the gaping hole that has now split the community of almost 300 residents into two.

“We need help. The whole community needs help. … [There’s] nothing wi can do without government help,” 47-year-old resident Dervan Seymour told The Gleaner.

For those willing to take the risk, a muddy path just above the break provides an alternative route, but it comes with serious safety concerns.

“A nuh everybody can manage it. Yuh have people down here as old as 91 years old. How she a guh go doctor?” one resident quizzed.

“It rough. The only way out is if the government come in and even give wi a good walk-foot track now. The walk-foot track weh wi have now, it’s right at the edge of the [breakaway]. So, sooner or later, it a guh break,” Seymour added.

“We nah manage. The only way we a think ‘bout now a fi cut a whole road … wid wi hand. We residents haffi a tink ‘bout fi tek fork and hoe wid wi hands. Wi nah manage well,” he said.

The hilly community is used to experiencing land slippages, but very rarely are they faced with anything of this magnitude.

ISSUE OF NEGLECT

Residents point out that debris from minor landslides caused by Hurricane Beryl in July still clutters parts of the road, highlighting a long-standing issue of neglect when it comes to maintaining infrastructure in the area.

Almost a decade ago, the main road in the neighbouring Mount Herob area suffered a major break, and it still remains unrepaired. Seymour fears that McGlashen, which he has called home for more than 20 years, could face a similar fate.

“There is a community down there that [has been] abandoned. Empty house everywhere yuh go,” he said. “We used to be one community with Brandon Hill but not anymore because of that bruk weh. So now, when this one happen, now it worse,” he said.

Although schools were closed yesterday as Tropical Storm Rafael passed near the island, 29-year-old resident Patricia Davis is concerned about what will happen when schools reopen today.

“We need help as soon as possible,” she said. “The kids dem can’t stay home. Dem have to go to school. Education is key,” she told The Gleaner.

Twenty-four-year-old livestock farmer Shanice Brown echoed similar sentiments.

“Children cannot go to school. … The track is dangerous for the kids,” she said, expressing concerns about how she will be able to transport chicken feed to her home.

Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, member of parliament for St Andrew West Rural, told The Gleaner that an assessment is currently being done by the National Works Agency to ascertain the cause of the breakaway before determining the best course of action.

“The geological department basically is saying this breakaway happen from hundreds and hundreds of metres below and that’s how the earth shifted because of the type of soil that they saw just looking at the destruction … and it shifted from way below because of the saturation [by] water, and the type of soil, and the soil just got heavy on the top,” she said.

In the meantime, Cuthbert Flynn is working with relevant agencies to repair the ruptured pipeline and ensure a safer pathway for residents.

“A better walkway [also] has to be made, so NWA (National Works Agency) will be working on that, and I will be assisting to do that,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com