Damaged Springbank Main Road to be Widened

Marooned residents of Springbank in eastern St. Thomas will soon be able to travel and carry out normal activities, as work began yesterday (Sept. 5), to widen the Springbank Main Road, where a break-away occurred as a result of Tropical Storm Gustav.
Springbank, and other adjoining communities, were cut off as the main road was eroded by water from the adjacent Pamphey River, causing residents to enter the river course and climb up a treacherous bank of loose earth, mud, and fallen trees, in order to get to Bath and other areas.
Superintendent of Roads and Works, at the St. Thomas Parish Council, Earl Dawkins, told JIS News, that the Council has committed to reopening the access road to Springbank, as residents were facing severe hardship not being able to commute. “The road would be cleared in a week and be drivable. It could be double lane because we have to cut the road wide enough,” he said.
The scope of work includes cutting deep enough into the hillside, to create adequate access for vehicular traffic; removing the dirt; re-routing the river away from the bank, where the road is located, to prevent erosion and restoring the surface.
Mr. Dawkins further explained that the soil was loose, and because of the rain from the storm, it was also soft. That made it difficult to work. “Right now the bank seems as if you’ll have a lot of landslides, but we intend to cut it for double lanes and hope it remains that way,” he told JIS News.
Member of Parliament, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, pointed out that the work to be executed was not easy to accomplish, as the soil was loose and susceptible to further slippage. He also told JIS News, that the roadway fell under a repair programme of the National Works Agency (NWA), and would be rehabilitated at a cost of $12 million.
He says because of the breakaway, the cost is expected to substantially increase.
Dr. Ferguson also pointed out that an agreement had been reached with the owner of the land. “What he has put on the table is, he wants some kind of assurance of payment if he loses his cocoa and coffee trees. I told him I had no problems in giving such assurance,” he said.
Dr. Ferguson disclosed that he had already held discussions on the matter with the Minister of State in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Joseph Hibbert, and that further discussions would have to be held with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), NWA, and the Parish Council.