Minister promises to fix Maryland Hill

The roadway, which links Upper Belmont to the Lady Young Road, Morvant, has been in a state of disrepair for several years, with potholes which have developed into huge craters filled with grass and weeds, while in other areas the asphalt was cracked and folded making the road inaccessible to vehicles.

Imbert said, "I am aware that several attempts have been made to fix this road and I remember a former Local Government Minister rushing in sometime in the late 1990s to work on this road. I also recall that the work he did only lasted for a few months before the road started to crack and move again.

"I assure you that I will make my best effort to ensure that whatever work is done on Maryland Hill by the Ministry of Works under my watch, will be done in a far more scientific and sustainable manner than previous work on this road." Responding to claims that Maryland Hill and other badly damaged roads had been left out of his ministry’s current road repair programme, Imbert pointed out that the Works Ministry was responsible only for main roads and highways, while secondary roads fall under the jurisdiction of the various Local Government Corporations.

The minister said he had decided to "go outside my area of responsibility" to repair "critical local roads" although he expressed the view that it was "quite ridiculous that the Local Government Corporations do not do the work that they are mandated to do."

He said he had asked Members of Parliament to submit lists of roads in their constituencies that needed to be repaired in order of priority. Imbert also denied that the current road paving exercise is a post-Budget and pre-election effort. He explained that the Works Ministry has embarked on a comprehensive national road repair and rehabilitation programme and there will be a sustained programme of such road works from now on.