Users of the Junction main road in St Mary are demanding that the Government fix the thoroughfare that is riddled with potholes and other impediments, which they believe could have lethal consequences.

Last Wednesday when the Jamaica Observer visited the area, motorists drove at snail’s pace to avoid the multiple potholes that lined the roadway.

“Road bad, road bad and dem wah put examiner pon road. As you fix your front end it lick out,” a bus conductor shouted as he noticed the Jamaica Observer’s vehicle.

Another motorist, who did not wish to disclose his identity, complained about a section of the roadway that has sunken.

“From before Local Government Election it stay so. Dem dump it up the Monday before the election. A nuh the first it a bruck down,” the motorist continued, while advising that the Government build a bridge instead.

In addition to the sunken roadway and potholes, the motorists noted that other sections of the roadway are on the brink of collapsing.

“It bad from yah so to go back a east Portland,” a taxi operator reasoned, noting that the majority of the roads in eastern parishes need to be repaired.

The taxi operator argued that continuous delay in repairing the thoroughfare has brought additional expenses on them, as they strive to maintain their vehicles and keep them in roadworthy condition.

“If a man buy a car for $4 million he ends up spending twice the amount on the car because of the road,” the taxi operator stated.

Another motorist, who also declined to be identified, said that it was insulting for motorists to be driving on the corridor.

The motorist, who disclosed that he has been traversing the thoroughfare from as far back as 1950, is calling on the Government to inform the public on their plans to repair the surface.

The Junction road links St Mary with the parishes of St Ann and Portland, which depend largely on tourism for sustenance.

It is also the leading pathway for people travelling from the Corporate Area and St Catherine to get to key establishments in St Mary, including the Casa Maria Hotel in Port Maria, the Robin’s Bay Beach Hotel and Strawberry Fields resorts in Robin’s Bay, as well as the Annotto Bay Hospital.

Member of Parliament for South East St Mary, in which the major portion of the Junction road falls, Dr Winston Green said that the Government has allocated over $500 million to rehabilitate the Broadgate to Agualta Vale section of the corridor.

Green, a two-term MP who emerged victorious on a People’s National Party ticket in the February 25, 2016 General Election, said that he could not give a timeline as to when work is expected to start, but said that he was allotted $8.5 million, which he will use to start remedial work on the Junction road this week.

See additional coverage on page 26