Construction on South Coast Highway to resume following protest by residents

Tamara Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Following a protest by residents in the district of Redberry, near Porus in Manchester who say they continue to suffer inconveniences caused by construction on the South Coast Highway, work on the project is expected to resume today.

Safety Officer at China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), Valton Simpson, said a meeting was held with residents on Tuesday and the issues have been addressed.

Not only were the residents denouncing what they deem as a reckless disregard for their well being but called for the authorities to address the damage done to their houses.

“I find myself getting up at 4:00 am each morning due to the fact that they have this work going on. My house is cracking up…people think we don’t want progress. We are not against the motorway, but at what cost,” said returning resident Stephen Griffiths.

Griffiths, who built his retirement house approximately five years ago, is now just meters away from roads being cleared for the highway.

He claimed that the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) and CHEC did not carry out the necessary assessment before the works began and he is now suffering as a result.

“Send someone around before you send a bulldozer in. It is only now that they are making checks. You can’t sit in your office in Kingston and go on Google earth to get accurate information. You have to be on site.”

Griffiths added that a mesh barricade that was installed to block dust from his property is inadequate and said that safety measures for an area prone to flooding have not been implemented.

“When the rain comes, it comes from top Redberry and Ramble and it comes here and settles… now when you put an object in there called the highway, you are taking up that bed that water is used to, so where is it going now, in my property…”

The resident claimed that he was told by CHEC representatives that the assessment to estimate the damage allegedly caused by the construction will not be done until after the highway is completed.

“…That is absolute rubbish. You can’t do business like that… I think they treat country people differently because this couldn’t happen in some parts of Kingston. I got a lawyer to write a letter to NROCC to tell them of damage but the company representative suggested that we tear out book leaf and write to them, but that can’t work….”

However, Simpson said a survey will be done and compared with a pre-blast survey to assess whether the damage was a result of the construction in the area.

He added that once the survey is done and the work in the area is complete, the necessary repairs will be carried out.

Residents have been expressing disapproval of the strategies used to construct the highway since work began in July of last year.

“I had lived here for 25 years…I won’t stop until something is done. Anywhere I must get the help, I will get it because it can’t go so. Some people are not speaking up but I will speak up” said resident Annette Francis.

In Photo: Annette Francis

Pamela Patterson, another resident who lives just meters away from where a bridge will be erected, said she was told that she is out of the alignment and will not be compensated for the dust, noise, or alleged damage to her house.

In Photo: The yard of Pamela Patterson, which is just meters away from where a bridge will be erected for the highway.

“We can’t manage the dust, the noise, everything. The vibration from one of the machines cracking up the houses and there is no compensation. I don’t know what to do next. The only thing they said they would do is give us a tank with water, we got the tank but no water.”

Simpson told The Gleaner that providing water is not a responsibility of the company but that assistance will be given to ensure residents are supplied with the commodity each week.

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