AS motorists across the island continue to face gaping potholes, minister with responsibility for works Robert Morgan has told the Jamaica Observer that the Cabinet on Monday approved a further $1.5-billion spend for patching and sheeting work on main roads across the island to bring some well-needed relief to drivers.

This brings the money allocated to tackle the persistent pothole problem to $3.1 billion for this fiscal year.

This eyesore on Orange Street in dowtown Kingston is not only a pothole, but an impediment to traffic in possibly the busiest part of Kingston. This spot is located very close to the intersection with Heywood Street, near to the traffic light.

According to Morgan, the additional allocation was necessary based on the scope of the problem. He told the Observer that the money initially allocated for the pothole patching programme is already being spent.

“We are engaged in a $1.6-billion programme patching the roads. It’s really sheeting in many cases. Cabinet just approved another $1.5 billion to do more roads. We are doing the $1.6 billion now and then, before the end of the year, we are going to spend another $1.5 billion on road rehabilitation,” said Morgan.

These potholes on Constant Spring Grove in St Andrew are among many which force motorists to drive on the wrong side of the road. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

But even as the minister promised relief, motorists across the Corporate Area were pointing the Observer to several roads where potholes are making driving almost impossible.

In downtown Kingston, where many large potholes pockmark the streets, motorists pointed to one on Orange Street, close to its intersection with Heywood Street, which they said is a source of frustration for many.

Motorists take great care to avoid this pothole on Elizabeth Avenue in St Andrew. 

While an Observer news team was in the area on Thursday, motorists and pedestrians urged the team to take as many pictures and videos as possible to expose the failure of authorities to maintain roads.

In response, Morgan said that area could be fixed as early as next week as it is schduled for priority repairs.

Fairdene Avenue in Ackee Walk, St Andrew, has been in a very deporable state for a long time, according to residents.

He underscored that his ministry is responsible for fixing main roads through the National Works Agency, and not streets or lanes.

At the intersection of Maxfield Avenue and Little Kew Road in St Andrew lies this unsightly hazard in the form of a pothole.

“Not all the roads are mine. I am strictly responsible for main roads; I am not responsible for avenues, lanes, and I am not responsible for crescents. I am not responsible for any of those community roads. None at all. My roads are roads like Washington Boulevard, Constant Spring and Barbican Road.

“Roads like Liguanea Avenue, Paddington Terrace, roads in Cherry Garden, and a lot of the community roads in downtown Kingston are not mine — they belong to the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation — but I have been getting blamed. Parish councils get a billion dollars a year and they need to fix those roads,” argued Morgan.

Dodging large potholes has become normal activity for motorists who travel on Retirement Crescent in St Andrew. 

However residents of several Corporate Area communities only want their roads fixed, with no concern over which agency will do it.

On Fairdene Avenue in Ackee Walk, St Andrew, residents and passing motorists expressed their displeasure at the state of the road, which is littered with very deep and wide potholes..

This eroded area of the road surface and the manhole cover are clear hazards on Slipe Pen Road in Kingston. 

“It is treacherous. It is dread. When the rain falls, pedestrians get splashed easily all the time. They need to fix the roads properly and done,” said one motorist.

He was supported by another motorist, who charged that the condition of the roads in Corporate Area forces drivers to make detours into areas where they would rather not drive.

MORGAN…roads like Liguanea Avenue, Paddington Terrace, roads in Cherry Gardens, and a lot of the community roads in downtown Kingston are not mine but I have been getting blamed (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

In the meantime, one motorist complained about damage to his vehicle by the potholes.

“The road stay very bad, man. The road need to fix. It a mash up mi front end and we have to drive on the roads every day,” lamented the motorist.