Shocked at condition of road to Cedar Hill

THE EDITOR: Recently I had to make a few trips from north to south Trinidad to take a few foreign visitors to see mutual friends in a village just before Princes Town called Cedar Hill.

I was shocked to see the condition of the road between the turn-off from the highway at Tarouba through the Usine Ste Madeleine/St Charles/Cedar Hill/Manahambre route. It had deteriorated into more of a track, or rather a trace, with the number of open holes, ditches, broken edges and uneven surfaces.

Needless to say the visitors were appalled at the condition of the road and spoke about it.

Has the Minister of Works and Transport or his people ever had the time to pass on that "road?" Does the MP or the councillor for the area ever use that "trace." It is a disaster waiting to happen because drivers have to zigzag to negotiate their way forward. The situation becomes more perilous when it rains as one can never tell the depth of the numerous water-filled potholes.

I am not here to figure out who is responsible for the road, whether the ministry or the regional corporation. The road way needs fixing.

To crown it all I saw an official sign on my way back to San Fernando as I passed the Usine pond and old sugar factory that amused me. The sign read, "Road Narrows," which apparently was to alert drivers to a broken ditch on the left-hand side. There were a few dried bamboo pieces sticking out of the ditch, apparently to warn drivers. That is an accident waiting to happen.

How long that sign has been there I cannot tell but I am wondering if it will stay there permanently to become a feature of future road building and maintenance in the country.

L DASS

via e-mail