MARTHA BRAE, Trelawny — For the third time since September, irate taxi operators and residents on Wednesday blocked sections of the pothole-riddled road between Martha Brae and Wakefield, in what they hope will force the authorities to urgently repair the heavily traversed corridor.

From as early as 5:00 am the protesters, using power saws, downed large trees which they used to block the road, forcing vehicular traffic to come to a standstill despite the efforts of members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade and Jamaica Constabulary Force to clear the corridor.

Dozens of people, including students, were left to walk, in some instances for miles, to get to a point where they could get transportation to their destination.

“We will not stop blocking the road until we get good road,” one of the demonstrators screamed. Another chimed in: “Enough is enough; we can’t take it no more. We cannot afford to be replacing front-end parts that the bad road a knock out every day.”

First-time Member of Parliament for Trelawny Northern Tova Hamilton explained in a recent meeting with residents that the Government could not afford the amount it would cost to rehabilitate the 14-mile corridor — stretching from Falmouth to Springvale — at once, but said repair work would be tackled on a phased basis.

She noted that work for the Martha Brae section of the road is currently in the procurement process, and added that this will be followed by another $200-million allocation for repairs from Martha Brae to Bounty Hall. That project should be ready in time for the next fiscal year.

She bemoaned that she inherited a deplorable road network when she became the Member of Parliament for the constituency two years ago.

Councillor Phillip Service (People’s National Party, Martha Brae Division) told the Jamaica Observer that he was in solidarity with the protesters.

“… I understand the actions of whosoever is blocking the road because certainly we have had a historical problem on this Falmouth to Springvale main road, but this section [Martha Brae to Bounty Hall]? It is the worst that it has ever been. Over many, many years there has been need for the maintenance of the roadway between Falmouth and Springvale, which is an extended piece of road from Falmouth to Wakefield to beyond to Deeside…,” said Service, who has indicated that he is stepping away from representational politics.

“They [Government] just have to find the resources to do the necessary work. I know it is difficult but we just have to find it.”