April 28, 2009 — A "humanitarian" move led to the temporary repair of an "obscure" dirt road in the Valley, Deputy Public Works Commissioner Ira Wade said Tuesday.
"We did what is called 'grade and fill,'" he said.
The road is located off the South Shore Road near Santos Laundry. The neighborhood, part of Estate Enighed that sits northwest of Enighed Pond, has numerous modest houses.
Public Works used dirt removed from the Cruz Bay roundabout project to smooth out a quarter-mile stretch of the road. Public Works crews also cleaned drainage ditches so the water would flow out of the Valley, Wade said. This will help prevent flooding, he said.
According to Wade, the department used its manpower, equipment and fuel three days last week to make the repairs, but did not have to buy dirt. He did not have a price tag for the job.
Although the road in the Valley is a private estate road, Wade said at an April 8 meeting on St. John, called by Gov. John deJongh Jr., that the Public Works commissioner had the authority to deal with private estate roads.
At that meeting, Wade said that it would take $750,000 to $800,000 of funding the government does not have to permanently fix the road because it has serious drainage problems.
"It's an engineering nightmare," Wade said at the meeting.
DeJongh heard about the poor condition of the road at the April 8 meeting. He said in a news release that he was pleased by the quick action of Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls and his department to bring some relief to residents of the well-traveled road on St. John.
"Numerous residents complained about the condition of the Valley road at the neighborhood meeting, and I am pleased at the quick turnaround by Public Works in taking the steps necessary to provide an interim surface to this roadway," deJongh said.
The neighborhood meetings will continue in both districts and, where practically possible, immediate solutions will be implemented to bring relief as quickly as possible, the governor said.
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