As a tropical storm system barreled toward Barbados triggering an urgent flash flood watch for the island, a sitting lawmaker is sounding the alarm over critical flood mitigation works that remain incomplete nearly 12 months after a deadly flooding disaster killed residents at Charles Rowe Bridge. Toni Moore, the Member of Parliament for St George North constituency, delivered the stark warning at a weekend party meeting Sunday, emphasizing that the island’s peak hurricane season puts local communities at unnecessary risk due to the stalled infrastructure project.
Moore told attendees gathered at the Valley Resource Centre that in the wake of last year’s tragic flooding event at the site, government promised a sweeping series of drainage upgrades to reduce future flood risk. But as of mid-hurricane season, that critical work has not moved forward at the pace residents expected, leaving the community vulnerable to heavy storm downpours. “We are right in the heart of hurricane season, and the outstanding drainage works are our biggest source of anxiety right now,” Moore said. “All we can do is pray that we avoid a severe storm that would bring devastating fallout to this area, because the protections we were promised still aren’t in place. We hope that by next hurricane season, we won’t still be facing this same fear.”
Beyond the unfinished flood works, Moore addressed ongoing delays to another high-priority infrastructure project in her constituency: the long-awaited upgrade to Sweet Vale Road. Originally slated to break ground in March of this year, the project has been pushed back indefinitely after coordination with local utility companies forced a full redesign of a planned roundabout, a feature first approved years ago under former MP Gline Clarke.
Moore explained that after early consultations with utility providers, engineers discovered the original roundabout layout conflicted with existing underground utility lines, making the initial design unworkable. Subsequent back-and-forth discussions between Ministry of Transport and Works engineering teams and the contracted construction firm uncovered additional unforeseen technical issues that required even more design adjustments. Rather than rushing construction to meet an arbitrary deadline and risk having to excavate the completed road to fix damaged utility lines later – a move that would create far more disruption for local residents – Moore said the decision was made to restart the design process from scratch.
“I know this delay is frustrating for everyone who has been waiting for this road upgrade, but cutting corners now would only create bigger problems down the line,” she said. “If we rushed and hit a water main after paving, we’d have to dig up the entire road just a few years down the line, and that would cause even more anger and disruption. After waiting this long, it’s far more important to get it right the first time: to make sure utility lines are properly laid, sidewalks are built to last, and streetlights are installed correctly the first time around.” Moore added that she could not yet give a firm completion date for the project, as design work is still ongoing.
To offset frustration over the Sweet Vale Road delays, Moore highlighted the early completion of upgrades to Taitt Hill – a project that was not included in the original annual infrastructure schedule for the constituency, but was prioritized after residents pushed for repairs. Moore stressed that constituent feedback does not fall on deaf ears, even when technical challenges slow down planned projects.
“Residents’ concerns are not being ignored, but sometimes unforeseen technical issues have to be worked through thoroughly to make sure we deliver infrastructure that serves this community for decades to come,” she said.