Claverty Cottage roadway cleared

Claverty Cottage, West Portland:

A section of the roadway at Claverty Cottage in West Portland, which was rendered impassable due to multiple landslides, has been cleared through a joint initiative between the Portland Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the member of parliament, Daryl Vaz.

The roadway, which had been blocked since Sunday, was cleared Tuesday morning after heavy-duty equipment was dispatched to the area to remove debris and boulders, and to also assist with remedial work, after the road network was ravaged by four days of torrential rainfall.

The clearing of the roadway means teachers can now attend school and residents, including farmers and persons with disabilities, can now move freely in and out of the community aboard vehicles, even though the rain has not subsided.

“It was an emergency situation and we quickly dispatched heavy-duty equipment to the area based on the importance of allowing free movement for residents, “ said Paul Thompson, chairman of the PMC.

“We also had to clear a section of the roadway at New Eden in the Hope Bay Valley, which was partially blocked by landslides due to heavy rainfall Monday evening. We continue to monitor the situation in other areas, as rain is in the forecast for at least a couple more days. There are no reports of any damage in the Rio Grande Valley, which is good on the part of farmers.

“But significant damage was done to farmlands and crops in Chepstowe, Claverty Cottage, Swift River, and Fruitful Vale. The extent of the damage caused by last week’s heavy rainfall has not yet been determined but, based on video footage, it appears to be quite significant. Several crops including banana, plantain, pepper, and tomato suffered extensive damage,” he added.

According to Jacob Brown, a farmer, a quick response on the part of the authorities has eased the tension that was brewing among residents who, according to him, were fearful that they would have to wait for another day or two before the roadway was cleared.

“Mi happy fi di clearance and mi tank di authorities dem. Is just one way in and one way out of this community and any emergency, like smaddy should get sick and need to go to di hospital, coulda result in a death. So we really happy fi di work done to clear di road,” he said.

In the meantime, Orton Manahan, councillor for the Hope Bay division, told The Gleaner yesterday that an assessment will be done later this week to determine the extent of damage done to the road network in that division, along with losses incurred by farmers.

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