FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW, I have been observing the deteriorating state of roads in rural Barbados, particularly the Scotland District. I am now satisfied that if there is not a well thought out and funded rehabilitation programme implemented by Government very soon, life is going to get really tough for residents.
Bridges are crumbling and you can tell from the way many have sunken surfaces or broken edges, the asphalt of many roads feature some pronounced waves that make the surf at Bathsheba look smooth at high tide, and roadways are narrowing as the sides fall off.
What’s particularly frightening is the rate at which access is being lost. Villages that could once be accessed from two or more directions are now down to a single road. This would not be a matter of concern if we were not dealing, as we are in the Scotland District, with soil that is constantly moving.
The end result is that we could all go to sleep with a perfect roadway and wake up the next morning with no access. Under the circumstances, therefore, a prudent Government would do its best to keep as many roads as possible open.
But no, the “lower road” at Turners Hall in St Andrew slipped away more than a dozen years ago and barriers were erected to close it. The top road became the primary access, but is now so precariously rutted by soil movement, we should not be surprised if during the current rainy season it becomes unusable. Both roads would then be closed.
It seems, too, that someone at the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) is intent on seeing the village of St Simons truly isolated. The main access, for decades beside the old Transport Board depot at Haggatts, ironically now a major MTW base for St Andrew and St Joseph, has been closed for so many years due to a compromised bridge that Mother Nature has literally taken back the road. The only access is via, believe it or not, Isolation Road.
Under George Payne’s leadership of the Ministry of Transport, extensive work was done on the steep road at Rock Hall, St Andrew. Since then, it has slipped away bit by bit to the point where a section that could have accommodated three full-sized Transport Board buses side by side, has now been reduced to a single lane.
At Walkers, St Andrew, about 400 metres from the parish church, traffic was restricted for months by a broken culvert. Now authorities have been forced to close the entire roads to replace the culvert, forcing all traffic along one of the worst roads to be found anywhere on this island.
From Dark Hole to Haggatts, the road is falling apart with at least three exposed areas where a wrong move could send motorists careening into the ravine. Along the main road in Belleplaine, the unofficial capital of St Andrew, a crude wooden barricade is all that stands between motorists and a potential disaster because of yet another broken drain.
Add to that the clearly defined drop in the road at Turner’s Hall near the home of minibus operator Morris Lee and Coggins Hill, which is in such a sad state any unsuspecting motorist would turn back believing a road so bad could not possibly lead anywhere.
But my favourite is the bridge downhill from the famous Cherry Tree Hill, where large holes have developed on both sides of the road. This road, heavily used by tour buses and taxis headed to Morgan Lewis Windmill and the East Coast, looks set to collapse entirely at any time.
And just in case anyone thinks I am making up stuff, here is a letter I got last week from a reader:
Dear Mr Morris,
Recently I drove from Bathsheba to Bath, and that road is shocking. I had to drive at less than five miles per hour in some places. That must be one of the worst roads in Barbados. No wonder I did not see another single vehicle on that road. And that is a road that a lot of tourists used to use. I wonder what they will say about it to their relatives and friends when they return to their country of origin.
I would like our Prime Minister to take a drive along that road in his expensive, air-conditioned Mercedes Benz (or Audi or whatever – MP2) and see how he likes it.
When elections are near, you can always tell because roads start getting fixed, and it is not only this present DLP Government – the BLP is the same. How is it that Governments can find the money then, and not now? This Government seems hell bent on building a new general hospital. What is wrong with the QEH and where will the money come from to build it?
I think that instead of building a new hospital, which would probably cost about $1 billion, some of that money should go to fixing our roads. If the QEH needs more space, why can’t a four-storey building be constructed to the north connecting to the hospital, after the trees are cut down and there be a lighted underground car park?
– Andrew Birkett
Based on what I have observed, these rural roads are in this state because the depots are not being given the money, tools and material to carry out adequate repairs and maintenance. In a very short time, the broken culvert near St Andrew’s Parish Church is being made ready for vehicles. When the crews have the tools they get the job done.
It’s time to stop making a bad situation worse. Don’t let thousand-dollar problems turn into million-dollar construction projects.
