Letter of the Day | When public works becomes public inconvenience
Published:Tuesday | December 23, 2025 | 12:05 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
Government institutions such as the National Water Commission (NWC) have perfected the art of turning necessary infrastructure upgrades into exercises in human suffering. Too often, their operations make daily life unbearable, burdensome, and emotionally draining, while simultaneously dragging down national productivity. The latest example is unfolding in the Liguanea/Wellington Drive corridor — an area that forms a vital artery in Kingston’s already fragile traffic system.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, when commercial activity surges and every hour on the road feels like a week, the NWC continues laying sewage pipes along Wellington Drive. The decision, periodically, to block this key corridor during the day effectively means that motorists travelling north along Old Hope Road cannot turn left onto Wellington. Likewise, those travelling west cannot turn left after the US Embassy along Munro Road. Predictably, the result is a traffic snarl of epic proportions at Matildas Corner, where tempers flare, productivity evaporates, and the police — already stretched thin — are forced into stressful traffic-management duty.
This is not simply poor planning; it reflects a chronic failure to think creatively, compassionately, and efficiently. Why, for instance, can’t critical works of this nature be scheduled at night? Many countries have long embraced night-time infrastructure work precisely because it reduces congestion, improves worker safety, and minimises economic disruption. Jamaica can do likewise.
Night work is just the beginning. There are several other practical, people-centred strategies that public agencies could adopt:
1. Phased or alternating lane closures: Instead of a whole block, allow controlled single-lane access using flag personnel or temporary traffic lights.
2. Weekend-intensive work cycles: Concentrate the most disruptive digging on weekends when weekday traffic flows are spared.
3. Real-time traffic communication: Use social media, SMS alerts, and Google Maps integration to warn motorists of closures and suggest alternate routes.
4. Inter-agency coordination: Major works should involve consultation with the police, municipal authorities, taxi associations, schools, and businesses to minimise impact.
The problem in the Liguanea area is not the sewage project; improvements are overdue due to the increase in high-rise apartment buildings. The problem is the mindset that treats inconvenience as inevitable and the public as an afterthought. Wellington Drive is not the first example of poor coordination — but it can be the turning point.
FR. DONALD CHAMBERS