Who closed St Lucien Road?

Residents who live along St Lucien Road, Diego Martin, insisted yesterday they were never consulted by officers of the West End Police Station about the closure of St Lucien Road.

Last week Saturday and Sunday, the road was closed off to vehicular traffic to accommodate the laying of sewer pipes by contractors acting for Gowkaran Mahabir, developer of the Vale View Project. The closure of the road was placed in a very small advertisement which appeared in Newsday. The Ministry of Works claimed the closure of the road was in no way connected to them, while the Diego Martin Regional Corporation also distanced itself from the project. The Water and Sewerage Authority claimed that they were asked by the contractor to view the work to avoid any of WASA’s existing lines from being damaged, while the police claimed that the order to close the road was signed by Ag Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs.

Yesterday, police sources revealed that the procedure for the closure of any road is that an application is first made. That application is sent to the police station in the district and officers are supposed to consult with residents of the area to determine the best time for the closure of the road. They are also consulted on the hours that suit them for the closure. Several residents of St Lucien Road said yesterday that they were kept in the dark about the closure of St Lucien Road, and they only knew about it in an article in Newsday. Residents were further inconvenienced when the contractor, who had permission to work until 6 pm last Sunday, applied for a four hour extension from the St James Police. The work ended at midnight. Residents are demanding an explanation from the Minister of Works Franklyn Khan on the matter. On Friday, during Divali, Diego Martin residents were again faced with traffic congestion along St Lucien Road as repair work was carried out on the dug up road. The situation continued on Saturday.

Last Tuesday, the chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation, Steve Castagne, visited the Vale View site. He also met with the developer. Speaking with Newsday during yesterday’s tea break in Parliament, Works Minister Franklyn Khan disclosed that on Thursday the Ministry will award a contract through NIPDEC to repair the road.  Khan said the Ministry was taking over because Diego Martin residents should not have to suffer from the poor rehabilitative works done on the road to date.  The Minister said if it were up to him, the money to repair the road should come from the developer’s pocket.  Khan added that he will be meeting with WASA and the other people involved to determine what action can be taken against the developer.