Junction fear

Girlie Harris, a longtime resident of Golden Valley in St Mary, says she feels a wave of fear every time she travels along certain sections of the Junction main road – especially those lacking embankments or retaining walls.

Her fear intensified last Monday after a tragic car crash claimed the life of a Nigerian doctor just minutes from her small shop.

According to police reports, 36-year-old Dr Ubung Etti was among four doctors travelling from Kingston to Annotto Bay, St Mary, around 5:50 a.m. The driver reportedly swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, struck an embankment, and plunged into a ravine. The vehicle eventually landed on the embankment of a river.

While the three other doctors sustained injuries and have since been discharged from hospital, Etti did not survive.

The accident has left residents shaken.

Harris, who has lived in the area for 39 years, says the stretch of road where the accident occurred has been without a retaining wall since Hurricane Beryl struck in July last year.

“Mi fraid a di road bad. Mi wish mi cudda just come off a di vehicle and walk pass deh and walk come back out ya so come tek wah taxi go town,” she said, admitting she is even scared to glance over the gully.

“A di mercy a God mek the three of them come up alive!” another resident exclaimed.

Veteran bus driver Carl Williams, who has been plying the Annotto Bay to Kingston route for more than 33 years, said it is only experience that has helped him avoid a major accident in the Junction so far. However, he is deeply concerned about the deteriorating road conditions.

“Di road bad, man. Dem can fix it, but dem nah do it. All dem do is just patch it. Every now and then, dem put a few patches inna it; seldom dem bush it,” he said.

His colleague, Odane White, shared his frustration over the condition of the road, urging motorists to be cautious.

“Mi a ask di people dem fi tek time drive, and di road is narrow, suh wi haffi just tek time drive,” he said. “Dem deh road cannot be fixed; there are precipices all over.”

THREE DEATHS IN FIVE YEARS

Data from the Island Traffic Authority shows that three road fatalities occurred in the Junction area in the last five years. A total of 77 fatalities have occurred in St Mary over the five years.

Up to last Friday morning, Jamaica had recorded 119 road fatalities for 2025, resulting from 105 fatal collisions. This is a 14 per cent decrease when compared to the corresponding period last year.

Dr Lucien Jones, vice chairman of the National Road Safety Council, noted that statistically, Junction is no more dangerous than other roads across Jamaica. Still, he emphasised the urgent need for retaining walls and better roadside infrastructure.

“That’s a concern that we have been speaking about for a while now. The police have asked the NWA (National Works Agency) to put up signs and improve road markings that we have been supporting and calling for, for the longest time now,” he said.

Jones pointed to Jamaica’s commitment under the World Health Organization’s safe systems approach, which encourages systemic improvements over reliance on individual behaviour to reduce road deaths and serious injuries.

Stephen Shaw, manager for communication and customer service at the NWA, explained that embankments are typically constructed in areas showing signs of erosion, breakaways, or where additional road space is needed.

He stated that there are a lot of areas in Jamaica with similar roadways like Junction, “and I don’t know without more [resources], we can just go and be building. Of course, we’d love to have money to do that kind of thing – to build walls everywhere – but I don’t think that will happen in the short or medium term.”

A $600-million project to address the Junction road’s issues was announced by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness in 2017, but the plan was shelved four years later due to budget limitations.

In the meantime, Shaw urged drivers to be vigilant.

“In driving in areas where there are inherent risks, there is [need for] a high level of precaution when traversing those spaces,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com