POTHOLES APLENTY ... Bad roads driving motorists crazy
Bad roads, which have been made worse by persistent rainfalls over the past months, have been making life miserable for motorists. Drivers told THE STAR that they have been forced to shell out thousands of dollars weekly to buy front-end parts and do repairs to their vehicles.
“Rain is all natural but we never have good roads yet and front-end parts nuh cheap. Rain fall a other countries and dem nuh have it bad like we,” a motorist told THE STAR.
He was among several persons who were seen at Bert’s Auto Parts on Camp Road, Kingston, trying to acquire parts to condition his vehicle.
Brian Nicholson, manager at Star Team International Limited Auto Centre on Caledonia Avenue, said 70 per cent of the clients complain about bad roads for damage to their motor vehicles. “Front-end work and alignment, those never stop. They complain about the bad roads and we work mostly with the red plate taxis,” Nicholson said. Stephen Shaw, manager, communication and customer services at the National Works Agency, admits that the condition of some roads have deteriorated in recent times. “What we would have seen are potholes developing in several corridors. I can’t pinpoint any particular area, I know that we have a lot of potholes on several corridors in the Corporate Area,” he said. Asked what would be done to deal with the deteriorating conditions of the road, Shaw said “Plans are usually formulated in the context of a budget and there are always plans, but whether or not we have budgetary support is another thing.”