The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) has mapped out an alternative route for west rural St Andrew and Gordon Town residents who need to travel between Papine and Mavis Bank until a landslide on the Gordon Town main road is cleared.

The circuitous route runs through Craigton, Redlight District, New Castle, Hardwar Gap, Silver Gap, St Peter’s, and Content Gap.

Heavy rain from the outer bands of hurricanes Zeta and Eta over the past three weeks triggered a landslide on Gordon Town Road.

Kingston Mayor Delroy Williams told the KSAMC council meeting on Tuesday that the landslide will not be an easy fix.

“The initial assessment suggests that it will take time and will need central government intervention,” Williams said.

He said the KSAMC had sent a team to rural St Andrew to try to find alternative routes for residents of Gordon Town, Mavis Bank and other districts in St Andrew West Rural to get to Papine.

The mayor urged residents in the affected areas to allow the National Works Agency (NWA) to clear the blockage and not to try doing it themselves.

Commenting on the flood devastation in Nine Miles, St Thomas, the mayor said the corporation’s CEO, Robert Hill, was consulting National Environment and Planning Agency to determine the source of large volumes of silt “coming from the hills”.

The mayor, who said he was also concerned about the flooding problem citizens in New Haven, St Andrew, had been experiencing, told the council that the NWA was “finalising a design” that would alleviate the long-standing problem.

In the meantime, the NWA yesterday officially announced the closure of the Gordon Town main road in the vicinity of Stand Up Hill with immediate effect.

According to the NWA, the roadway is not safe for use by any mode of transportation.

NWA’s Communication and Customer Services Manager Stephen Shaw said the breakaway poses a grave risk to motorised, as well as pedestrian traffic and urges residents to avoid the area.

Shaw said while the NWA recognises that the detour route is much longer than the ordinary route, it is the only safe, accessible and practical way available at this time.

He explained that while the NWA has identified an alternative roadway through Savage Pen, extensive work is required to make it traversable in sections.

Shaw noted that the preparation of Savage Pen Road is contingent on the weather over the upcoming days, which is forecast to produce more rains.

“In light of this, the NWA is reminding the public to remain vigilant when using roadways located in hilly terrain like Gordon Town and neighbouring settlements as well as to obey the prohibition order now in place in relation to Gordon Town road,” said Shaw.

— Claudienne Edwards