Raheen main road collapse causes frustration for motorists

Motorists affected by the closure of the Raheen main road, which connects Siloah and Balaclava in St Elizabeth, are becoming increasingly frustrated.

Following a further collapse of the road as a result of heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Rafael earlier this month, the National Works Agency ordered the roadway to be closed.

Drivers have been using an alternative route – known as the ‘Cane Piece Road’, but it presents its own challenges. The uneven surface forces vehicles to slow to a crawl, and when it rains, loose dirt turns to mud, making travel even more difficult. The absence of streetlights on the private road also raises safety concerns.

Last Thursday, there was an uproar during the monthly sitting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation (StEMC) when Christopher Williams, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Santa Cruz division, suggested that residents had become so frustrated that they went to cause further damage to the Raheen main road in hopes that the relevant authorities would fix it quickly.

According to him, there was a video showing a man with an unidentified tool digging up a section of the remaining infrastructure.

Williams, who is also the chairman of the parish’s infrastructure committee, said that he was concerned by the actions of the residents.

“And looking at some pictures, ... you can see chairman where that digging away has caused the breakaway to widen a bit. I cannot say for sure if that was a deliberate action ... to cause problem or if something took place,” he said.

In a plea to residents, Williams emphasised that further degrading the roads was not an appropriate course of action.

“As responsible councillors, we should basically take that position and ask the people we represent to protect whatever infrastructure we have and give the process the chance to work. It might take some time, ... but we’re not the ones who are providing the resources and we don’t know what is happening why it is taking so long,” he said.

Black River Mayor Richard Solomon and other councillors said that they had not seen the video, but agreed that any such actions should be discouraged.

‘HELP IS ON THE WAY’

“We understand that they have been waiting for quite a while and I know that it can be frustrating, but help is on its way,” Solomon said, adding that he was informed that work on the roadway would commence sometime this week.

Audley Myers – the People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the Siloah division, who has been advocating for the road’s rehabilitation since it first began to show signs of collapsing – criticised the authorities for not acting sooner.

Myers, although not the councillor for the area of the collapsed road, has been a frequent user of the route and vocal about its condition. In an interview with The Gleaner last month, he described the road as being in poor condition for over a year and nine months.

Everton Fisher – the PNP councillor for the Balaclava division, who has responsibility for the area where the collapsed road is located – took issue with councillor Williams’ discourse.

“I’m going to ask God to forgive Chris because ... no citizen whether from Siloah or Balaclava would have maliciously gone there with a crowbar and [done] any damage to the roadway,” he said.

Fisher added that the corridor was useful to both divisions and that since it collapsed, Myers, who uses the route more frequently, has taken up the issue and, therefore, he has not been the one raising it.

But he stated that Williams’ statement was “unfortunate”.

“Regardless of our political stripes, there must be things that [we can] be civil about and have some decency. We couldn’t look at our people and think our people ... [have] maliciously gone out there to break down a road because they want it to be fixed,” he continued.

In his presentation, Superintendent Coleridge Minto, head of the St Elizabeth Police Division, said that at approximately 5:30 last Thursday morning, locals had mounted roadblocks along a few major corridors in the north of the parish.

The impacted routes were the Maggotty to Siloah main road, Raheen to Balaclava main road, and Balaclava to Elim near Bogue Hill.

“Myself and a team also visited all the locations; however, on arrival of these locations, no one was seen. We, however, observed a number of trees that were cut, and they were used to block the major thoroughfares,” he said.

The roadways were later cleared that morning.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com