Lower Fort Road, St. John’s, Antigua. Residents of the Lower Fort Road community are saying “WE CAN’T BREATHE!” This follows weeks of stalled road works which has left the area in a constant pall of heavy dust which is posing a health risk to residents.
Just days before Labour Day last month, Lower Fort Road was graded giving it a smooth, but unfinished surface.
This came almost two years after the road was left in a deplorable state with pot holes, trenches and abysses from the laying of pipes for the reverse osmosis plant located at Fort James.
Residents took the recent work to grade the road as a signal that it would have been fully completed in time for the Labour Day Parade. Sadly, this was not the case.
After months of horrid conditions, the road was made worse when it was graded. A new problem has been created – intense dust clouds that constantly rise from the heavily trafficked road.
Residents are inhaling copious amounts of unhealthy dust, which creeps into their homes, settles into their furnishings and invades every nook and cranny.
An increasing number of residents are experiencing respiratory problems from the poor air quality. Should this scenario play out any longer and urgent action not be taken to resolve it, the community fears for its members becoming seriously, if not gravely ill.
The Lower Fort Road community is also furious that there seems to be no sense of urgency by Public Works which is dragging its feet on completing the road works. Acknowledging that preparation for the SIDS conference took resources away, the community complaints started long before SIDS.
Now, the SIDS delegates have left, leaving smooth roads and cleaner air quality, in other less travelled areas.
As we see too often in our beloved country, lack of proper planning and execution of projects, in many cases, leaves much to be desired, with communities suffering as a consequence. In the case of Lower Fort Road, it also appears to be the norm, to not inform the community about plans for the area.
The deafening silence and lack of communication or concern by Ministry officials for the residents’ plight is infuriating and is another classic example of poor project planning and management.
Residents are imploring the Minister and Director of Public Works and their parliamentary representatives to urgently address the situation and expedite the repairs needed, to not only provide the public with a proper road leading to Fort James beach, but also to preempt the health crisis the community potentially faces.
Residents have also noted that they will continue to advocate for the community and its popular beach until they see improvements.
