IT is impossible to drive faster than five miles an hour on the main road from Windsor to Millbank in the upper Rio Grande Valley, Portland.
In fact, the surface can hardly be described as a road; a stony, crater-filled stretch snakes for about 12 miles into the hills of Portland and ends in a foot path that leads into the neighbouring parish of St Thomas. What is normally a 45-minute journey takes at least two hours of bumps, twists and turns, due to the poor state of the surface. From Port Antonio, the capital town of the parish, to Windsor the journey is relatively bump free as that section, although also narrow and winding, is paved.
A deep corner of the road at Dam Bridge marks the spot where 14 people lost their lives in a tragic accident in which a truck, laden with produce and loaded with higglers, plunged almost 30 metres down a ravine into a tributary of the Rio Grande. The driver of the ill-fated truck fled the scene and was on the run for two weeks before turning himself in to the police last week. He is still in custody.
Residents of the districts served by the badly deteriorated road say that the stretch from Windsor has never been paved. The unpaved crater-filled road serves the farming districts of Windsor, Seaman’s Valley, Kent, Ginger House, Friday, Comfort Castle, Bellevue and Millbank.
Benny White, former mayor of Port Antonio, contends that the terrible condition of the road may have contributed to the tragedy which has left some 50 children without parents.
"The roadway is in a terrible state and it is not for want of trying to alert the authorities. We the people of the Rio Grande Valley feel neglected; it seems we are an afterthought," White told the Sunday Observer during a tour of the area last week.
In 2005, more than $100 million was earmarked by the then People’s National Party (PNP) government to carry out extensive repairs to the main road which runs through the Rio Grande Valley, but to date the road remains in a decrepit state.
Dr Donald Rhodd, who has been the PNP Member of Parliament for Eastern Portland for three terms, said that despite his best efforts the stretch of road has been neglected by both administrations.
"The only time we get assistance is when there is a disaster. We have taken a team of Cuban engineers who did a comprehensive report, we got the Japanese ambassador up there, we have written petitions, written to the Prime Minister, but there has been very little response," he said.
According to Rhodd, the road may have been allowed to deteriorate because the area is not known to attract tourists.
"We continue to be treated like the poor child of the family," he added. "It’s not for lack of trying, I think it is a lack of understanding the value of these areas."
Rhodd noted that the roads in areas visited frequently by tourists have been fixed repeatedly, but no effort has been made to repair the roads in the valley.
Residents in that rainsoaked eastern section of the island are largely farmers of dasheen, plantains, bananas, yams and peppers that are eventually sold at Coronation Market in downtown Kingston.
The district of Millbank is also reputed to experience record amounts of rainfall, second only to the Amazon Rainforest in South America.
Last week the Sunday Observer counted more than 100 craters — potholes measuring at least 12 feet long and six feet wide — between Millbank and the Alligator Church Bridge. There were numerous other small potholes that made the laborious journey even more difficult to negotiate. The road was treacherously narrow in some sections and meandered perilously close to deep ravines — some more than 300 feet deep — which spiral into the pristine waters of the Rio Grande.
Some sections of the road have been eroded and there are no railings or walls to warn motorists of the impending danger. The section of the roadway at Dam Bridge where the truck careened over the edge, was also eroded and residents say the accident could have been avoided if there were railings or a concrete wall in place to warn the driver of the market truck.
Motorists who use the road daily say their vehicles are suffering.
"Wi have to repair wi car regular. The road mash up wi front end and wi feel like nobody don’t business wid us around here," said a driver of a robot taxi.
One female resident of Millbank said mothers in labour suffer when they are being transported to hospital.
"Some of them have the baby in the vehicle. You can imagine a pregnant woman in a vehicle weh a bounce up and down and jerk up her belly? It hard for everybody who live in the Rio Grande Valley," the woman said.
The cascading waters of the Rio Grande and Dry River also pass through the area and several dilapidated bridges connects districts which are parted by the rivers.
Rhodd told the Sunday Observer that the Dry River Bridge had been replaced after it had collapsed during heavy rains last year, but expressed fear that the other bridges would give way in the near future.
"I hope and pray that another bridge doesn’t collapse before some action is taken," he said.
