Collapsed culvert in Dark Hole, St Joseph leaves road impassable

A collapsed culvert in Dark Hole, St Joseph has left the road impassable and created a headache for residents in the surrounding areas.

The culvert collapsed last night, blocking the area between Parks Road and Bruce Vale.

As a result, persons were advised to use Coggins, Chalky Mount and Bissex to enter Parks Road.

When contacted, Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Ian Gooding-Edghill told Barbados TODAY he would first have to be briefed by his technical team before making a comment.

He said there was a possibility officials from the ministry would tour the affected area on Tuesday.

 Attorney General Dale Marshall and member of Parliament for St Joseph, Dale Marshall told Barbados TODAY, the road at Dark Hole first collapsed on January 20, 2018, but was reopened earlier this year.

“I was satisfied with the work that was done and also that we could have responded in the way that we needed to. Unfortunately, an area just further north or adjacent to the area in which the works were done has now shown signs of cavitation.

“So while the road surfacing itself is intact,  save for a hole less than about six inches in diameter, under that it is clear that there is no supporting material, so, therefore, it meant that yesterday, Public Works had to close off the road at Dark Hole.”

Marshall expressed disappointment at the development, noting that the important thoroughfare was a vital link connecting St Andrew, St Joseph and beyond. He however assured the problem would be rectified as soon as possible.

“The officers of the Ministry of Public Workers have been engaging with me and I am aware that first thing tomorrow morning they will be reporting to the location at Dark Hole to try to remedy this particular difficulty.

“I am hopeful that it can be done in short order, I am expected to meet there with the individuals from Public Works tomorrow morning to see how long it will take and hopefully ensure that the road is restored to full use in the shortest possible time.

 Resident Jeffrey Blackman told Barbados TODAY he believed the culvert had collapsed because it was not properly constructed.

“This has all of the vehicles in St Andrew unable to pass because it was a bad job that was done here. It should not have been done that way. You put down a culvert and got the end block off, how you expect the water to get out? It needs someone that really knows about these jobs to do them.

“It is affecting the traffic very seriously because you can’t pass so we have to get very serious and do some work down here,” Blackman maintained.

Jeffrey Blackman, Resident

He also blamed much of the damage to the roads in St Joseph and neighbouring St Andrew on the heavy-duty vehicles.

He said he believed heavy trucks should not travel the roads in the Scotland District area.

“I believe that no heavy sand trucks should not pass in the Scotland area under these bridges. Two tonnes is the most and the rest should go East Coast or Farley Hill or our roads will continue to crumble,” Blackman said.

Marshall acknowledged that the roads in the Scotland district were in serious need of infrastructural improvement.

“The road infrastructure in the Scotland District is especially fragile from tremendous amounts of slippage and it is vital that we make a national investment in the road infrastructure in the Scotland District,” he said.

“I am happy to say that investment is being made and we have a $230 million loan from the Exim Bank of China and that loan is only to work on Scotland District roads, Scotland District road infrastructure, and that project will see approximately 40 roads in the Scotland District stretching from St John in the south to St Lucy in the north brought into a safe and sturdy condition to last us for the next few decades.”

(randybennett@barbadostoday.bb)