Sunday Herald, November 9, 2008
Fern Gully road getting worse
The
once treasured North Coast tourism belt has
gradually seen neglect fast approaching its
front door.
Fern Gully is among the
areas most affected. As one of the most
important natural botanical sites and home
of 253 [a serious overestimate!] different
species of ferns, the area, which is
certainly a very important
destination for international tourism, has been in need of some attention for some time.
For several months now, the road in
Fern Gully, on the outskirts of Ocho Rios in St. Ann, has been
deteriorating
and this was compounded by flooding
associated with Tropical Storm Gustav earlier
this year,
badly damaging sections of the roadway.
The road is used by thousands of
vehicles taking passengers from the tourist resorts towns of Montego
Bay and Ocho
Rios and other surroundings towns, to
Kingston. But the state of sections of
the road,
especially near the sides, has
made it a somewhat risky business navigating
the winding, slippery, surface
in the famous gully.
It has been now three months since the
rains and landslides brought by Gustav
caused big potholes to
emerge in sections
of the roadway. The gully is
the site of the workshops and houses of
many artisans, many
of whom are now out
of a job because some of the tourist
companies have reportedly been avoiding the
area,
taking their clients elsewhere to avoid the bumpy ride damage to their buses.
During the most recent heavy rains that
affected the North Coast, a landslide
occurred in Fern Gully,
causing some of
the dirt walls to cave in and ripping
down trees and large stones. After a
week, the debris,
though extending close to the middle of the road, remains there, forcing motorists to veer around the rubble to avoid damage to the bodies of their vehicles.
Reports are that efforts by concerned
motorists to contact the relevant authorities
have not yet yielded
any results.
It is understood that a major
rehabilitation of the roadway is pending,
through the Ministry of Transport
and Works,
which has plans in train to utilise the
same concrete method that was recently
applied in the
Bog Walk gorge, on the Fern Gully road.
