KINGSTON, Jamaica — When intense downpours swept across eastern Jamaica late Tuesday, the rainfall triggered dangerous landslides that shut down the critical primary highway connecting the communities of Maryland and Woodford. Days after the blockage, People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker candidate for the St Andrew East Rural constituency Patrick Peterkin is sounding the alarm, demanding the National Works Agency (NWA) move immediately to clear debris and reopen the impassable route.
In an official public statement issued Saturday, Peterkin outlined the far-reaching fallout of the road closure, which has cut off access to multiple local communities including Happy Gate District, Cambridge, Woodford, and Free Town District. For thousands of residents in these areas, daily routines have been upended by the loss of the main thoroughfare. With the direct route blocked, locals are forced to detour through winding Norbrook Hill, a diversion that adds 30 to 45 minutes to every one-way commute. Beyond the lost time, transportation costs have jumped by at least 100 percent, piling new financial pressure on households already struggling with rising cost-of-living burdens across the island.
“This outcome is completely unacceptable,” Peterkin emphasized. “Residents are already feeling the strain of this disruption, and they deserve immediate relief to restore their access to work, school, and essential services.”
Beyond the urgent call for debris removal and road reopening, Peterkin stressed that national and local agencies need to adopt a more coordinated, rapid response framework for weather-related infrastructure failures. He argued that quick action is non-negotiable to restore normalcy and stability for the thousands of residents impacted by the closure.
Most notably, Peterkin is pushing for permanent, long-term solutions to address the recurring cycle of landslides and road damage that plagues the hilly St Andrew East Rural region. He linked the increasing frequency of these weather-related disruptions to growing climate volatility, noting that Jamaica has seen more unpredictable and extreme rainfall patterns in recent years.
“We cannot keep relying on a reactive, patchwork approach to this problem,” Peterkin said. “We need sustained, targeted investment in robust drainage networks, engineered slope stabilization, and climate-resilient infrastructure that can prevent these disruptive closures from becoming a repeated nightmare for local residents.”
Peterkin closed by reassuring constituents that he would continue amplifying their concerns to national infrastructure agencies. He committed to both pushing for immediate action to reopen the blocked road and advocating for long-term interventions that protect resident access and livelihoods across the St Andrew East Rural constituency for years to come.