Residents of rural communities happy their roads are to be finally fixed

Long overdue but welcomed!

That’s how residents of Vaughn’s Road No.1 in St Joseph and Shorey Village in St Andrew, feel about the planned roadworks in their communities.

When a team from Barbados TODAY visited Vaughn’s Road No.1 this afternoon, an overjoyed Phyllis Cumberbatch said the road repairs were long in coming.

She pointed to a road that she said had collapsed since 2005. Cumberbatch said it had never been fixed despite several promises from respective governments.

She said the road’s deterioration had forced her to close her once thriving shop and seek out other ways to support herself and her family.

“If it does start it would be a wonderful thing because as you see there are steps at both sides of the road. I call down in here Vaughn’s Road number half because right now it’s only half a road. I had shop and everything here years ago but I had to shut down my shop due to the land slippage,” Cumberbatch, who has been living in the area for over three decades explained.

“Right now my land behind is still slipping, my house is still moving, so it is good to hear that they are finally doing something with the road. Hopefully, they won’t only do something with the road, but they will also do something with the poles that are falling down, and the trees that are overhanging the electric wires. It’s about time because it needed to be done a long, long time ago.”

Yesterday during Parliament, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works, Santia Bradshaw revealed that the long-awaited Scotland District Road Rehabilitation Project would commence at  Vaughns Road No. 1 in St Joseph next Monday and Shorey Village, St Andrew would  begin on June  30.

The $256.6 million project is being financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and will be executed by China National Complete Import and Export Corporation Limited (Complant).

Today, Cumberbatch’s neighbor Gabrielle Atherley told Barbados TODAY she had lived in the community for over 50 years. The 61-year-old said she was ecstatic to finally have the road repaired and would not mind the inconvenience associated with the roadworks.

She recalled that residents had appealed over the years to have the road fixed, even going as far as to sign a petition.

“I am so excited, it’s way overdue. I know out here is quiet and peaceful from this end and I know when work starts there are going to be a lot of trucks and thing but I don’t mind. I am just excited and I hope that by this time next year everything will be ok,” Atherley said.

She complained that the steps which connected both sides of the badly damaged road were dangerous, resulting in her falling on several occasions while trying to climb them.

Additionally, she said the land slippage was so bad that the spot where a house once stood was now a part of a nearby gully.

Atherley said she hoped when the road was repaired the community would once again be a hive of activity.

Over in Shorey Village, St Andrew, the proprietor of Nigel Benn Aunty Shop who gave her name as Aunty Lucille, also expressed delight at the impending roadworks.

She explained that large numbers of visitors usually came to the area and improved roads would help in attracting more people.

“You know when you have a good road you does feel good. The improved road will also help to improve business and everything. I just had a couple visitors here,” the elderly woman pointed out.

“I am thankful that we are having the road done because visitors usually come through from St Peter through St Andrew…I thank God for doing what they said they will do and more than me will be thankful. If they aren’t thankful they are fools.”

Another resident gave her name as Noreen said some of the nearby roads were in a very bad state.

She called on Government to maintain the roads after the repairs were completed.

“I would like to ask the Government to continue the work. Don’t wait until it get out of control again, control the work now,” the 66-year-old said.

“But we are glad that the Chinese are doing it and it is time enough. It is time enough.” 
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb