Roadways facing collapse in Portland
Published:Monday | July 15, 2024 | 12:09 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Portland:
Residents in Cornwall Barracks and Ginger House in the Rio Grande Valley of Portland are at risk of being marooned as a result of two massive landslides that occurred during the passage of Hurricane Beryl nearly two weeks ago.
The landslides threaten to undermine the integrity of newly paved roadways in both communities and have worsened with each bout of rain since the July 3 hurricane.
Portland Eastern Member of Parliament Ann-Marie Vaz, who visited both areas on Sunday, acknowledged that immediate action is required to save both thoroughfares.
“I am looking at the actual damage and it is really hard to accept that this is, in fact, happening. I yielded to the cries of the people, who have been begging for a proper road surface for several decades now,” she said.
“It took a lot of effort to secure the funding to reconstruct the roadway at Ginger House and Cornwall Barracks, but it was done with success. But here comes one single hurricane and it just mash up the roadway. I am feeling like each time I take one step forward, I am taking 10 steps backward. It is not fair to the people, especially the elderly, farmers, taxi operators, and students, who are the ones most likely to suffer in the event that both roadways collapse.”
She called the situation “an emergency”, promising to lobby for the necessary repairs in the shortest possible time to avert a total collapse of both roadways.
“The Rio Grande Valley is the breadbasket of the parish and, therefore, it is of paramount importance to ensure that the necessary remedial work is done in a timely manner, so that farm produce ... can get to the market for consumers,” Vaz said.
A 2.4-kilometre stretch of roadway was resurfaced at Cornwall Barracks, while a little over 3.2 kilometres was completed in the Ginger House area. The roadworks, which were delayed due to the hurricane, are scheduled to continue.
It appears that the rushing waters of the Rio Grande veered to the right in both areas during the passage of the hurricane, washing away boulders and a retaining wall, triggering the landslides.
A team from the National Works Agency also confirmed that water from the nearby river has seriously undermined the integrity of the road network in both communities.
Meanwhile, several communities in the upper Rio Grande Valley, including Ginger Hose, Cornwall Barracks, Bellevue, Mill Bank, Moore Town, and Comfort Castle, are still without electricity as a result of downed utility poles and damaged power lines.