KINGSTON, Jamaica — Disgruntled residents of Lower Halls Delight in St Andrew are expressing their dissatisfaction with what they deem as a lack of effort by the National Works Agency (NWA) to remove a boulder which has rendered a roadway partially impassable since an earthquake last year.

The boulder in question is now partially blocking the Constitution Hill main road in the community after it was brought down in October 2023 by the 5.6 earthquake that rocked the country.

READ: Jamaica jolted by earthquake

Tension has been building in the area since a few months after the incident, as the boulder remained on the roadway. The clearing of several roads in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl which passed south of the island on July 3,  has caused residents to become even more agitated.

“The boulder is a hazard that send up your anxiety every time yuh pass it. It block half the road suh when sharing the other half of the road, yuh haffi careful on approach to the boulder cause yuh can’t see what is coming up the road and you know how people drive bad,” one angry resident told Observer Online.

The individual noted that Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness initially told residents that moving the boulder could expose the road to other rocks that might fall down.

“I know government might seh they don’t want to move it right now cause the boulder shields the road from other rocks that might fall down, Juliet seh this uppa Irish Town. But this boulder deh yah from last year earthquake. How this year hurricane problem ah get tend to before us?” the resident questioned.

He further claimed the NWA has had road widening projects in the community since which should have seen the boulder cleared up a “long time ago”.

Another resident expressed her displeasure with the situation.

“The boulders are a nuisance when negotiating that section of the roadway on my way up or down. There are also some perilously perched above. The whole area needs to be fixed before the rainy season starts,” she said.

During an initial call to Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the NWA, Stephen Shaw, he said the agency was ‘familiar’ with the situation and to send a formal email. However, further attempts for a response went ignored.