NWA promises patching within days as Hertford road protest continues

Taxi operators in Hertford, Westmoreland, say they are running out of patience as a protest over deteriorating roads entered its second day on Tuesday, with residents demanding action after what they say are repeated promises to fix the battered roadway.

“A $3 million we trust the bus for and we can’t work. No road no up deh so,” one public passenger vehicle (PPV) operator said.

He noted that the poor condition of the roads is damaging vehicles and affecting residents, including students trying to get to school.

“When the vehicles go down in [the potholes], it tear off the bumper,” he said, adding that a handful of motorists have had this experience.

Westmoreland Central Member of Parliament Dwayne Vaz said he sympathised with the residents and understood why they had resorted to blocking the road again.

“ ... I really can’t even blame them for blocking it because of the inconsistent information that we have gotten from the Government,” he said, noting that residents had been expecting work to begin as early as June.

“Up until now, that road has not started,” he said.

He said the contractor responsible for the road is also working on five other roads across the country.

“They have started two – Dunbars to Torrington and Sav to Toll Gate. But none of the two they have started have even been completed. It’s only preparation work that has been done so far,” Vaz said.

He said the National Works Agency (NWA), the minister with responsibility for works, and the contractor should explain the delays to residents.

Janell Ricketts, NWA community relations officer for the western region, said the Hertford to Fort William roadway is included in an ongoing parishwide patching programme.

She said that approximately $5 million has been allocated to address some of the worst sections of the corridor. She stressed, however, that the programme is for patching rather than full road rehabilitation.

PROJECT AT PROCUREMENT STAGE

Ricketts said another contract covering sections from Williamsfield to Grange is currently at the procurement stage and would receive a similar allocation.

Asked whether the entire Hertford to Flower Hill corridor would eventually undergo full rehabilitation, Ricketts said she could not provide an answer because of limited resources.

She said, however, that the patching work is expected to begin within days, although she could not give a specific start date.

“Our patching programme would not have been as a result of the roadblock but a general plan that we have been unrolling in the parish,” Ricketts said.

She also rejected the suggestion that Westmoreland was being deliberately overlooked in road repairs, pointing instead to the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Melissa and limited resources.

“It’s not that Westmoreland roads have been put on the back burner. That’s not it at all,” she said.

Vaz, however, believes that politics may be playing a role in the parish’s infrastructure problems.

“I think Westmoreland is left under the back burner because of how we participated in the elections,” he said. “So at the end of the day, it is sad to know that we are being sabotaged in this way in many different areas.”

The PPV operator said residents had staged a previous protest and were told that repairs would be done within three months.

“We protest already and they come and say three months. And now, see it here. ... They have not come back,” he said, adding that residents were prepared to wait if they could be assured that repairs were imminent.

“We are willing to wait for them to fix the road,” he said. “Please, we are asking you, just come do something to the road.”

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com