Some residents of Thorpe’s Cottage, St George, are singing the praises of the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW).
However, there remains a measure of scepticism and concerns after being without a smooth road for so long.
Sylvan Wilkinson said he was pleased with the work.
“This road needed repairing for so many years; this is the first time I’ve seen it done in more than 30 years. Before it was only getting patch, patch,” he said.
Despite this, Wilkinson said he did not feel the new road was going to last.
“This road should have a sidewalk on one side with a slipper drain because when vehicles drive on a road and it rains, the road breaks down. If they built a slipper drain, the concrete would stop the asphalt from breaking down and keep water from going under it,” he said.
Sade Barker also loved the look of the paved road but said she feared the worst.
“It’s a good thing, but it shouldn’t have taken them more than 20 years to fix this road. If any of those mains burst, then it will all be for nothing because the BWA (Barbados Water Authority) will dig up the road and it’s all over,” she said.
Shakela Lynch said she was so impressed, she came out of her home to watch the MTW paving unit in action.
“This road was very dusty and had nuff potholes. But this is the fastest I’ve ever seen roadworks done. I’m very elated. The minister only came here last week; these boys have done some work, from even before 7:30 a.m., you hear the trucks working, through rain and sun. I love it,” she said.
A resident, who gave his name only as Gaskin, said it was about time the road was fixed.
“This road want doing for the longest time. We have been complaining for too long, but I feel good now. The issue is, people used to come through here hard, no matter the big holes, so now it will be a race track and you can’t put humps (speed bumps) on a main road,” he said.
Kenaz Hinds said Thorpe’s Cottage road had been in disrepair for more than 15 years, which he said was a moderate guess.
“It’s been cruel for real long but the people appreciate it getting do now. They started last week with milling and now they paving. We like what we see,” he said.
Another youth, who declined to give his name, said he was 29 and the road was bad before he was born. He said both political parties had made promises but had delivered nothing until now.
However, he had a query: “Will you get back something for all the years your car getting damaged driving on that road?”
Not everyone was appreciative of the efforts, however, an MTW worker, who asked not to be identified, spoke about some people hurling abuse at them for the inconvenience of the road being blocked while repairs were underway, adding some people kept removing the signs they placed.
The ministry outlined the work on its Facebook page which said in part: “After numerous complaints regarding the state of the road, residents of Thorpe’s Cottage, St George, are breathing a sigh of relief as road works commenced in the area on Monday, May 4, 2026.
“Minister of Transport and Works (MTW) and Senior Minister coordinating infrastructure, Kirk Humphrey; Minister of State in the Ministry Dr Romel Springer and the technical team from the ministry visited the area during a series of tours recently. It was an opportunity for the new minister to get a first-hand look at the state of some roads across the island.
“MTW’s contractor, B&R Infrastructure Limited, began milling of the roadway which will end Thursday, May 7, when the ministry’s Paving Unit will begin to pave the road from its Gun Hill end. The work will be carried out from 9 a.m. daily and is expected to last a few days. Motorists are advised that the road will be closed while paving is being executed. Persons are urged to use alternative routes where possible.” (CA/PR)
The post Mixed reaction in Thorpe’s Cottage over new road appeared first on nationnews.com.