BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – RESIDENTS of Newtown, specifically those domiciled along Pond Road and its immediate environs, will no longer be victims of flood whenever there is heavy rainfall, as the Ministry of Works recently concluded rectification of the drainage system along that thoroughfare.
One middle-age male, who could be regularly seen sitting either on a chair or bench relaxing on the southern shoulder of Pond Road, felt elated on completion of the rectification process and stated that he no longer has to erect defence mechanisms to prevent his low-lying home from being flooded.
Many other residents, including schoolchildren, felt the same way, as they will no longer have to wait until the water abates or take off their footwear and wade through iton Pond Road to get to and from their intended destinations.
In an exclusive interview, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works, the Hon. Dr. Asim Martin told this publication that because there has been an increase in housing construction north of Basseterre on lands that were previously used for planting sugarcane, there was less surface area for water absorption.
“There was greater absorption of water into the soil when sugarcane was being planted there. But as we began to construct houses, there is less area for absorption and more water was running off from up in the north and all those areas that would have had construction and development. So, this therefore means that there will be more surface water running off into the drainage that we had constructed in the past to facilitate that type of development.
“So what we have sought to do within the Ministry of Public Works is to have a critical analysis done and we brought in a consultant from the ADB Consultant Group out of Jamaica. A group that had already done work here in the past, including revetment work around the island. So we brought them in and they were able to get a comprehensive analysis of the situation.”
The Public Works Minister explained that the Government was not only interested in making things better on the roadways in Newtown, but also within its outlying areas.
“We were looking not only at road-works in Pond Road, that was part of the whole comprehensive road-work coming all the way down from the South East Peninsula, Major’s Bay right down to the front of Pelican Mall. We started with a pedestrian survey and as part of that survey we were able to structure a road improvement system in various parts of the island.
“Initially, we started over at the South East Peninsula at the Cockle Shell Bay Road and that was completed sometime last year. That was the first phase in which we paved the road and erected traffic signs. We then moved closer to the Marriott roundabout, where, in the past, you would have had difficulty in water running off there. So we created more runoffs and underground drains to rectify the situation.”
Dr. Martin said that his Ministry then moved up to Timothy Hill, an area that he noted had some danger taking place in the past, where people would have traversed and rocks would be falling.
“We were engaged in a major rehabilitation project there that had involved the benching of the hills on both sides. That was done by local contractors; a consortium of heavy equipment operators. They are now engaged in the construction of a tunnel. We expect that the tunnel will be installed by February next year, and this would assist in reducing the fear of persons travelling in that area. I am sure that will increase vehicular traffic and improve road safety as well as economic development in the area.”
He pointed out that the other phase was that of the roundabout between the Central Bank and the Kim Collins Highway, where there had always been a back-up of traffic.
“We did an analysis and we felt that the best thing to do was to construct a roundabout. That has been completed and we have seen an improvement in vehicular traffic and an improvement in better flow-off of surface water. We therefore would like to thank the Central Bank for providing us some lands and to all persons who were inconvenienced throughout its construction.”
Returning to the topic of remedial work done in Newtown, Dr. Martin said storm drains were built on both sides of Sandown Road because there was none in the past and he explained the reason for having them constructed.
“Those storm drains were built as a means of taking off some of the water on Pond Road that would normally settle during heavy rainfall. Those storm drains will provide a quicker flow of water into the sea, but it would all depend on the tide. Sometimes you have high tides, where the pressure comes up from the sea and stops the water from freely flowing into it. That was the first phase that we have had in the Pond Road Rehabilitation Project.”
The second phase, he said, had involved the construction of larger culverts on East Street, Sebastian Street, Neverson Street East, Neverson Street West, Branch Street and Johnson Street, which would allow for greater flow and a larger volume of water into the storm drains on Sandown Road.
That phase was completed on the weekend of December 29-30, but pedestrians were complaining that it had left them with traffic hazards, as many motorists would have swerved dangerously to avoid the potholes created during the drainage rectification process.
The matter was however resolved on Saturday (Dec. 6) when employees of the Ministry of Works patched all the potholes on Pond Road.
Dr. Martin also explained that another phase had involved improvement to the drainage on the Frigate Bay Road in the vicinity of Pond’s Pasture.
“We also built another storm drain immediately south of the Newtown Playfield, which will allow water to flow from there into the bigger storm drains between a certain set of houses in Pond’s Pasture. The water will flow from those storm drains into Sol and then into the sea. What we have there now are two culverts instead of one and, with the additional drainage, things will now be better in that area.”
The Deputy Prime Minister informed that during the process of constructing the bigger storm drains in Pond’s Pasture, each resident whose property borders the storm drains from in front of the Newtown Health Centre to Pond Road were given a new six-foot wall fence.
