by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada
- Deteriorating and collapsing Molinere main road has rapidly widening cracks
- Grant funds will assist residents along Molinere main road to relocate
Since October, the Molinere road on the west coast of St Grenada has been rapidly deteriorating and collapsing with rapidly widening cracks, threatening the homes of nearby residents.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said the Molinere area affected by land slippage will be declared a disaster area. This will help speed up the process to receive grant funds to assist the emergency relocation of affected residents.
Dr Mitchell made the statement on Christmas Day while addressing the congregation at the nearby Church of the Uganda Martyrs, in his constituency at Happy Hill, St George. “We are going to declare the area a disaster. With that, of course, we will be able to get some grant money to help the people who have their homes in that area. They will be getting some grant support… I can’t say how much at this particular time.”
Martin Oswell Nicholas, operator of Charlie’s Bar, is among those directly affected and who was forced to immediately relocate. He was unable to be reached for comment on how this situation has affected his livelihood.
Dr Mitchell empathised with the affected residents for having to endure the inconvenience of having to suddenly relocate. “I want to reach out to them and say a prayer for them because it is not an easy thing to be living in your house and have to get up and move. Some things you never planned for; it’s psychologically a very difficult thing to do.”
As a result of the degradation of the road, traffic was diverted to accommodate geotechnical and engineering work on the section of road between Mt Moritz junction and Molinere public road.
Since 2017, the Government of Grenada has secured grant funding of US$17.3M (EC$46.7M) for the Grenada Western Corridor Upgrade Project, through the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) & the UK Department for International Development (DFID)/Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (CIF). The project is to upgrade and build approximately 20 km (12 miles) of climate-resilient roadworks on the West coast from the parish of St George to St Mark.
