Neglect and fear collide in McGlashen as residents brace for Melissa

It’s been nearly a year since torrential rains caused a massive road collapse along the main thoroughfare in McGlashen, St Andrew – yet no repairs has been made. Now, with Hurricane Melissa threatening the island, residents say the gaping hole has become a ticking time bomb.

“It (breakaway) is dangerous. It’s of great concern,” stated coffee farmer Cynthia Marshall. “And the sad thing about it is that we have nobody’s ears.”

Residents built a narrow makeshift path beside the collapsed section to maintain access to and from the community of about 300 people. But after recent downpours, that route, too, has become unstable and treacherous.

“We don’t know how far under there (the ground underneath) is undermined,” Marshall said, noting that her home and coffee farm sit just metres from the collapse – an area that continues to erode with every rainfall.

The 53-year-old said some neighbours have already relocated from the community because of the danger, though not everyone has that option.

“What can we do? We’ve lived here all the days of our life,” she said.

Another resident, Sally Ann Richards, has lost faith that the road will ever be fixed. She believes the Government’s neglect and silence on planned rehabilitation of McGlashen or the creation of a safe alternative route is part of a long-standing pattern of disregard for rural infrastructure.

“Nobody nuh business wid wi up ya,” she said, stating that no help was received from any government agency in constructing the makeshift road. “The road bruk weh dung deh bout 14 years and all now it nuh look pon, and den wah next part come tear off again.”

Adding to residents’ fears is a leaning light pole that has been threatening to fall for months. Despite numerous reports to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), locals say no action has been taken – forcing them to improvise.

“Right ya now, dis [community] nuh deh pon di map as far as mi see because see di light wire drop down the road, all dem a tell JPS come fix it. Wi haffi a carry out di pickney dem a mawning time ‘cause wi nuh wah dem touch it. If you have material right now fi mek yuh house ya fi just postpone it because nothing high cya go down deh,” Richards said.

“A because it have braces pon a mango tree mek di post nuh drop dung already,” she added.

“When light deh ya, it just a gash fire and just a lick together,” another resident, Devon Dubidat chimed in.

But one woman, who did not want to be named, was even more blunt: “Mi wah know if JPS aguh mek it kill somebody before dem come fix it.”

The Sunday Gleaner reached out to JPS for a response, but none was received up to press time.

According to Stephen Shaw, communication manager at the National Works Agency (NWA), assessments of the McGlashen site have been completed and technical work is at an advanced stage.

“The fix will require us relocating persons through the acquisition of their land or homes in order to shift the road. The failed embankment cannot be featured in the new road,” he said.

But the residents, anticipating even more hardship in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, pointed to the ongoing work by the National Water Commission in the area. While they welcome the long-overdue water system upgrades, the slow pace of the project – coupled with persistent rain – has left roads even more degraded.

“The top part of the road gone, a di second part you a look pon, and then if the storm come, a di third part ya go look pon when you come back,” Richards said.

Delano Williams, acting corporate public relations manager at the NWC, told The Sunday Gleaner that the water improvement project, which began in mid-August, aims to enhance supply for approximately 650 households across Mount Airy, Mount Prospect, Mount Friendship, Lyme Edge, Iron River, and nearby areas.

He said the project involves laying about 2.5 kilometres of new pipelines from a new tank at Mount St James to Mount Friendship. Despite weather-related delays, only about one kilometre remains to be completed.

He said once the storm has passed, the NWC will assess the site and carry out any necessary remedial work to restore road access.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com