Two years ago, two construction companies got together with residents and repaired the long stretch of road known as Factory Road, Charnocks, Christ Church.
The residents had pooled money while Robar Technology and MacGyver’s Construction provided the marl, equipment and manpower to fix the road, which at the time was so filled with potholes that it had become difficult for both pedestrians and motorists to use.
The residents and businesses were forced to take matters into their own hands because promises by Government to repair the road never materialised.
Fast forward to today: the road has fallen back into a terrible state and once again residents and businesses in the area are crying out for help.
While their situation is not unique since potholes are a major issue around the island, the problem is that the entire stretch of road, which runs from Charnocks to Coverley Villages, is so filled with potholes that there is really no safe section to traverse.
A visit to the area last week revealed the massive dilemma.
The heavy rainfall had rendered the road impassable, as rainwater had settled in the potholes, some of them covering the width of the road.
A female resident told of the difficulty she was experiencing: “Yuh can’t walk on the road and vehicles refuse to drive in.
“If I catch a taxi or ask a friend to drop me home, they putting me off at the top of the road because they don’t want to drive in here [as] there are too many potholes. And it is hard, especially if you got groceries and you have to walk in.
“There is a cart road that we use but when it rains, it is so muddy, so we have to decide if to walk through mud or walk through water,” she said.
“It is really hard especially when people have to go to work. You have to put on boots to get through all of this water and the potholes so deep that you do not know what you are stepping into.”
Another woman, who pointed out that she was visiting family, said she was disappointed to come back to Barbados to find that nothing had been done with the road.
“I was here last year and it was bad, and now that I come back it is worse,” she said, pointing to two big holes outside the house.
Ronald Greenidge, of Robar Technology, said that this was 12 years the road had been neglected.
“Nobody has paid us any attention for the last 12 years,” he said. “We have been requesting that the road get patched but nothing is being done.
“Back in 2015 we put marl on the road, fill the road and roll it, and now it has gone back into disrepair. The entire road is filled with potholes and this is not good enough.”
Greenidge said he had written to the Ministry of Transport & Works highlighting the condition of the road but to this day the problem had not been addressed.
Residents are hoping that their area will be given priority when Government’s multimillion-dollar road rehabilitation programme gets going. (MB)
