Andrew Smith, Photography Editor
Left: Tourists from Ocho Rios participate in the Blue Mountain bicycle tour from Spring Hill to Buff Bay, Portland. Five landslides on the road from Section to Buff Bay, Portland, have resulted in the tour, formerly from Hollywell to Buff Bay, being reduced by a third of the original distance. Right: Schoolchildren run along the remains of a roadway at Cascade, Portland, in the Blue Mountains, which was partially cut away by a landslide in December 2004, and has not yet been repaired.
SINCE DECEMBER 2004, approximately 2,000 residents living along the road from Section to Buff Bay in the Blue Mountain area of Portland have had their lifestyle immeasurably changed by a series of landslides that occurred in the community of Cascade, cutting away the road and the community from Kingston.
Seven months later, before any road repair was done, the road was cut away in four more places by landslides that occurred during the passage of hurricanes Dennis and Emily. The road is now cut off at Section, Cascade and three places at Regale.
FRUSTRATED RESIDENTS
Over a year later, the frustrated residents of Section, Cascade, Regale, Spring Hill and Cedar Valley travelled to Kingston last Monday to vent their frustration at the Works Ministry in Half-Way Tree. Works Minister Robert Pickersgill told the residents that a contract for $120 million had been signed to commence road repair within a week.
Life in these communities has been disrupted at all levels. Farmers cannot sell their coffee to the factories in the mountains, residents cannot receive mail, children cannot continue their education past Grade 9, because they cannot get to Buff Bay or Kingston. The famous Blue Mountain bicycle tour has had its distance reduced by one-third. Hezekiah Molloy, former Mayor of Port Antonio who lives in Spring Hill, says in order to reach Kingston, he has to drive 52 miles via the Junction Road in St. Mary, as opposed to 24 miles if he went through the hills.
Why have the roads been cut away by the landslides? The slides themselves result when fragile soil on exposed slopes are subject to intense rainfall. This is demonstrated at Regale, where residents said that a bridge will be necessary to connect the ends of the roads that have been divided. Above this landslide, the slope has been cleared of all vegetation to plant coffee - making the point that without proper environmental practices, it is likely that the road will be destroyed again.
