By Ivona Bradley
Those familiar with the road that connects Golden Vale, Choppins and Harmony Hall can attest to its vehicle damaging state. These narrow roadways have been crumbling for years in spite of the fact that they are used not just by the neighbourhood inhabitants but also by vans transporting school children, and now by taxis going to and from Argyle International Airport.
Sometime last week, patches of freshly applied concrete appeared on some of the worst potholes. This crude attempt at repair remains a puzzling mystery. Based on the sloppy and poorly executed work, one would assume it to be the handiwork of a frustrated citizen with some leftover concrete from a personal project. Local residents say, however, that government vehicles and workers were seen working on this road. How odd given there were no public announcements prior to this work, no barricades were put up, and traffic was not redirected in order that the wet compound could properly dry and cure. The result? As the photos show, the newly applied compound has had vehicles driven through it. This, in addition to being poorly applied, has thus already created ruts, lumps and ridges which effectively makes these road sections just as bad as before the “fix”.
The question remains as to who is responsible for this work. Both possibilities are troubling.
Is it the work of a frustrated resident or residents who are so fed up with government inaction on basic infrastructure projects that they take the matter into their own hands, or, is this just another example of the level of quality government public works bestows on its citizens?
(PS: I am guessing the $100 million from Kuwait for road infrastructure has already been spent?)
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The opinions presented in this content belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect the perspectives or editorial stance of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected].
I appreciate that this article is posted for the public to read.
As we all know, compared to other governments around the world, the roads of this country are way down on the priority list when, in truth, the more they are neglected the higher they should rise in priority. It is very obvious to me that the present government is far more concerned with building thier legacy than they are concerned aout the vital infrastructure of the country or the well-being of the people.The state of the Milton Cato hospital and health care, and schools is another example of this. Only places that foreigners may see are a priority, such as the Cruise Ship Terminal and Argyle. Foreigners also experience our roads, but over the long term people forget the state of the roads and will only see the structures that get built during this time. THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT KNOWS THIS! 10 years from now no one will remember how bad the roads were, provided that by that time extensive repairs could be carried-out by the next government. All people will think about is the new government buildings such as the Customs Building and the NIS or the BOSVG building, the airport, etc… People will forget the state of the roads and tend to think that the past decade was a time of prosperity instead of a time of crumbling roads and public debt,…left for future generations to pay the bills from all the hundreds of millions we are borrowing today. Because the government can’t figure out how to create an environment where people have a chance at opportunity, they take the easy way out and continue to raise taxes instead of doing things that create jobs.
Who “fixed” this road? Someone who was fed-up waiting for the government to fulfil thier responsibility. Maybe the van drivers can get together with taxi drivers to bring public attention to the government shirking thier elected responsibility. The van drivers of Green Hill were able to get the government to do cheap temporary repairs to the main road. Maybe we all need to protest the government having the Dynasty and friends live luxury lives while the rest of us are forced to risk our lives on these unsafe roads or pay horrendous car-repair bills while they live high-on-the-hog at our expense.
What “dynasty” are you referring to? Don’t all people, rich and poor, drive on the same roads, including member of your “dynasty”?
At least it’s better than the craters between Punkies Bar and Andrews Refridgeration. Not one has ever been attended to for years.