Preston Hill residents move to fix long-neglected Burnside Road in St Mary

Residents in Preston Hill, St Mary, say they have waited long enough for elected representatives to address Burnside Road, so they have begun carrying out repairs on the route themselves.

The roadway, which connects Preston Hill with Bailey’s Vale, has been in decline for decades, according to residents. They say the damage became so severe over time that some families had to leave their houses along the stretch.

Community members are now combining money, labour and whatever equipment they can secure as they try to make the area reachable again.

“The road was fixed in the 1960s and nothing else has been done to it since,” community activist Vincent Bryan told The STAR. “Throughout the years, the community has been neglected by successive governments so the road has gotten so bad that people who lived on that road were forced to move out.”

Bryan said the aim is to help rebuild Preston Hill from within, with the hope that persons who left because of the road conditions may one day be able to return.

Work has already started with residents cutting and clearing sections where bush had grown across parts of the road. Port Maria Mayor Fitzroy Wilson reportedly contributed $65,000, which was used to pay for a backhoe for one day.

Bryan said that assistance helped, but the job is far from finished. He is asking Members of Parliament Robert Montague and Omar Newell to support the community’s repair effort.

Residents say Burnside Road is not just a convenience. They say it is a vital alternative because the other road leading into Preston Hill becomes extremely difficult to travel during heavy showers, when a nearby ford floods.

“So if somebody gets sick suddenly during the rain, there’s no way to go to hospital,” Bryan explained.

Residents said years without proper maintenance have left portions of Burnside Road without asphalt, while heavy vegetation has taken over other sections.

Bryan said the community intends to keep pushing ahead with the work. “We’re scraping the road straight through, then on Labour Day we plan to concrete the hills, Murphy Hill is terrible so we’re going to concrete Murphy Hill and Cross Road. There’s a little swamp at Tumble Hill, we plan to fill it out with stones and see what we can do with it; those are the three worse parts of the road. On the level is not so bad but going up the hills, with the loose stones, it’s difficult,” he said.