Preston Hill residents fix road after decades of neglect

Carl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer

Preston Hill residents fix road after decades of neglect

Carl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer

Residents of Preston Hill in St Mary have resolved to repair Burnside Road after what they describe as decades of neglect, and are appealing for support to complete the work.

Preston Hill is located approximately five miles south of Port Maria. Burnside Road is part of the community and links Preston Hill to Bailey’s Vale. The community borders the constituencies of Western St Mary and Central St Mary, which are represented by members of parliament (MPs) Robert Montague and Omar Newell, respectively.

Vincent Bryan, who is leading the community effort, told The Gleaner that several residents have contributed, and that Port Maria Mayor Fitzroy Wilson has donated $65,000 to hire a backhoe for a day to assist with the clean-up.

Bryan said that work has already begun, with community members “scraping the road straight through”, and he is appealing for additional help, hoping both MPs will contribute to the project.

“The road was fixed in the 1960s and nothing else has been done to it since,” Bryan said. “Throughout the years, the community has been neglected by successive governments so the road has gotten so bad that people who lived on that road were forced to move out. But we the citizens have now come together to see how we can help our community by putting back the infrastructure in place so if people want to come back home they can.”

Bryan said that, of the two roads leading into Preston Hill, Burnside Road has been neglected. The other, via Sanside, has a ford that becomes impassable whenever it rains.

“So, if somebody gets sick suddenly during the rain, there’s no way to go to hospital, because, if you even go to Hampstead, the road tends to be blocked as well, and it’s even a longer road,” he explained.

After years of neglect, the road has become overgrown and stripped of asphalt. The community plans to continue rehabilitation efforts on Labour Day, while also beginning work on other roads, including Murphy Hill and Cross Road.

“We plan to concrete the hills. Murphy Hill is terrible, so we’re going to concrete Murphy Hill and Cross Road. There’s a little swamp at Tumble Hill; we plan to fill it out with stones and see what we can do with it; those are the three worst parts of the road. On the level is not so bad, but going up the hills, with the loose stones, it’s difficult,” Bryan pointed out.

The effort, he said, reflects the community’s determination to restore access and make the area more liveable.

File name: Burnside Road backhoe 

Caption: A backhoe assists with clean-up efforts. Contributed photos 

File name: Burnside Road 1

Caption: A section of Burnside Road in Point Hill, St Mary.

File name: Burnside Road 2 

Caption: A section of Burnside Road stripped of asphalt.