Badly scoured road in south Manchester could cost $100m to repair

By Kimone Witter 

 

Mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell says it will cost an estimated $100 million to carry out drainage works and repair the badly scoured East Down road near Alligator Pond, Manchester.

 

More than three miles of road in the southern Manchester community is no longer drivable after three days of heavy, persistent rains from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Helene.

 

Residents told Radio Jamaica News that the drain in East Down, which runs under a bridge, cannot handle large volumes of water from the Manchester hills.

 

Mr. Mitchell says more than 90 per cent of the road, which had been temporarily fixed post Beryl, is damaged.

 

The mayor, who spoke with Radio Jamaica News after a tour of the area on Thursday, said remedial work "so that people can get to travel to go to their farms, to bring out the produce they have, to get water so they can do the irrigation of the farm, etc".

 

"The superintendent has looked at it, but we will be getting some additional support to look at what can be done as it relates to how we manage that bridge, because most of the water actually could not be contained at the bridge area, so it took the roadway for it, and it has damaged 97% of the road," he disclosed.   

 

Mr. Mitchell said Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie will be approached for funding support.

 

He also sought to explain the delay in addressing the concerns of residents about the drain, noting that the municipal corporation had got and submitted estimates to the Local Government Ministry, from which it is awaiting a response. 

 

A medical doctor and farmers are among the residents in East Down whose livelihoods have been affected by the damage to the roadway.

 

They are calling for a permanent solution to the recurring issues.

 

Vendor Melvis Ricketts shared the process to get produce to market whenever vehicles are unable to manoeuvre the road. 

 

"I have about 200 pounds of tomato, right now, ready to go to the market tomorrow morning, and I don't know. If I'm to move, I have to head it, and I'm about half a mile from the main. And each time the road is like this, that's what I have to do. I have to come up at the main and walk in, and it is very dangerous for me, because there are a lot of criminals around; I don't know what can happen when I'm coming from the market in the night," she lamented. 

 

Losses for farmers 

 

While the damage to crops from flooding was minimal for some farmers, others say they have racked up huge losses.

 

Scallion, tomato and sweet pepper farmer, Delrose, said she lost almost half her crops.

 

"This is the worst we've seen in years," she said of the flooding.  

 

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green said farmers in Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Clarendon have reported losses.

 

There were also reports of minor damage in Westmoreland, St. Catherine and St. Thomas.

 

Councillor for the Alligator Pond Division in Manchester, Omar Robinson, said farmers are impatiently awaiting assistance from the government after some suffered heavy losses from the rains associated with Tropical Storm Helene.

 

According to Mr. Robinson, the farmers have been in recovery mode since Hurricane Beryl and now several farms in Duff House are under water.

 

He said other farmers in areas like Prospect, New Forest, East Down and Spring Ground have lost seedlings which were planted after the hurricane.

 

Noting that many of the farmers did not receive help following the hurricane, Mr. Robinson called for relief to be fast-tracked to those now affected. 

 

The Ministry of Agriculture has said teams from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority are in the field collecting data on the impact of the heavy rains.