Major landslides, six-foot deep craters, large boulders and extensive erosion caused by Jamaica’s Rio Cobre overflowing its banks have created a panorama of destruction costing several million dollars in the Bog Walk gorge in St. Catherine.
A Gleaner news team visited the area Sunday and observed several large craters in the road where the river had jumped its bank and scooped up greedy handsful of asphalt and blacktop, devouring retaining walls and gobbling up trees as it raged along.
Several work crews from the National Works Agency worked feverishly yesterday to rectify the situation.
“Our focus now is to reopen the closed corridors in the gorge and there are a number of crews working in the area. We have shipped between 100 and 200 tons of material there, and we should have a single lane cleared by tomorrow afternoon, that is, if the water does not rise tonight,” Ivan Anderson, the NWA’s chief executive officer told reporters yesterday.
He said work crews have begun rehabilitation or ‘patching’ exercises in Sligoville and Rock Hall. He put the damage triggered by the heavy rains as costing ‘many millions of dollars’.
In the meantime, small-time extortionists preyed on over-eager motorists who were bent on ignoring the warning that the gorge was officially closed to vehicular traffic.
The Gleaner news team saw groups of men and women at Dam Head and at least three other sections along the road collecting money from several motorists to allow them access.
A team of policemen, led by Corporal Errol Bent of the St. Catherine North Traffic Division, told the news team that although the road is closed, “several motorists still risked the possible destruction of their vehicles to drive on the roads, which have ditches up to six feet deep in several areas.”
Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, has in the meantime downplayed the reports of extortion.
“There were one or two young fellows getting out of hand, gathering around, but mark you, the motorists knew the road was closed, yet still they wanted to use it. So we are aware of extortionists, but the police are handling the situation,” the minister said.
The minister also said that attention was being placed on the Mandela Highway in St. Catherine because with the “reopening of schools, if that situation is not eased, it could be chaotic.” Schools across the island were ordered closed for three days last week by the Education Minister and will be reopened today.
Yesterday, several motorists were seen using the western side of the Mandela Highway, which was impassable last week, but in some areas, the water was still at least three feet high.
The one-way system for the Portmore Causeway has been extended between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to help ease the traffic congestion.
In the meantime, elsewhere in St. Catherine, a pile of mud and rocks more than 20 feet high has blocked the Williamsfield to Mount Industry road in St. Catherine, cutting off several communities.
The landslide that caused the roadblock occurred early last week when heavy rains pounded the island.
Residents of the cut-off communities have planned a protest for today to draw attention to the situation which they say has been ignored by the authorities.
The demonstration is planned for the Mount Industry All-Age School, whose administrators say they will keep the gates to the institution closed in solidarity with the protesters. Many students of the school are unable to get to classes because of the landslide.
Among the communities that have been cut off are Mount Industry, Bamboo Ridge, Freedom and London Ridge.
Delroy Lee, who is a resident of Mount Industry, said the situation is ugly. He told The Gleaner yesterday that desperate residents have started to make attempts to get over the blockade by crawling on all fours over the muddy mound. This, he said, was a dangerous practice, as one false move and the climber would sink and be buried in the mud. Mr. Lee said that despite several calls to the authorities, nobody from any government agency has visited the scene.
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