Deplorable St Thomas road worries residents

Standing just footsteps away from the huge breakaway in Mount Vernon Gap, Gladstone Grant grimaces as he recalled how he almost fell over the precipice that poses a danger to motorists and pedestrians.

He blamed the deplorable conditions of the road for the incident.

"Mi say a God save mi make mi drop pon mi bottom. Mi a walk and lose mi balance and almost go right over, enuh. A mi niece have to help mi more time," said the 76-year-old farmer who suffers from cataract. "Mi coulda hurt myself when mi drop, enuh. It difficult fi mi because when mi a walk, people have to a pilot mi. Mi would be more independent if the road never suh bad."

In 2020, heavy rains dumped a multiplicity of woes on residents of Mount Vernon Gap. Not only did they lose their crops but they were forced to walk miles and hours to go about their business as a massive section of the roadway collapsed. This added to the poor road surface that persons had to navigate. On Wednesday, de facto roads and works minister Everald Warmington and St Thomas Western Member of Parliament James Robertson journeyed through the space as a part of a road tour to get a first-hand experience of what the residents have had to endure for years. The politicians told the residents that plans are under way to address the pressing issue.

Grant and others are not entirely convinced by the talk, and he argued that the lack of infrastructure is preventing the district from reaching its true potential.

"People love dem district, enuh, and dem can't come from farrin and come a dem yard. Nuff people a farrin a spend dem money a build big house out here, but when dem hear bout di road condition dem get miserable. This is a difficult area as the hole dem in the ground big. Is bare riverbed round this side," Grant said.

"Is like we are the forgotten district and things need to shake up. Parish council election soon come up and if dis yah road nuh fix, mi not voting again. At my age mi nuh suppose to a fling from left and right pon road," he added.

Tamar Patterson-Thompson, a farmer, told THE WEEKEND STAR that every trip to the market brings heavy cost as taxi drivers will not risk damaging their vehicles.

"A pon we head we have to carry we load and walk far or we have to pay bike man as much as $2,000 to carry we goods. It's $500 a trip for us, but Albion Mountain people pay all $150 a trip. Mi have to talk, man. This road ya is a main leading road go right up back to Albion Mountain and other places. Suh when this road ya cut off, a lot of opportunity cut off from the district. If we sick, dawg nyam we supper," she said.