As clean up operations continue today on the major landslide that occurred along the North Coast Road, near the Maracas Lookout, engineers have been instructed to find a permanent solution.
Minister of Works and Transport, Rohan Sinanan told the T&T Guardian yesterday, that landslides in that particular area have been recurring over the past 10 years and he instructed one of his engineers at the ministry to visit the site.
“This is a recurring problem and is very dangerous and risky to all and I have instructed the engineer at the ministry to do something about it. Whenever it rains the soil becomes saturated and the land starts slipping so there needs to be an engineering solution,” Sinanan said.
On Monday, around 11.45 pm the massive landslide blocked the road as mounds of dirt and trees came down after a torrential shower.
From as early as 6 am teams from the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation and the Ministry of Works were out clearing the debris. Officials of the T&T Electricity Commission (TTEC) were also expected to visit the area to stabilise leaning electricity poles.
Residents have labelled the area a disaster zone and called for urgent attention from the relevant authorities.
Resident Peter Jones said that for years they have been experiencing such landslides which pose “an obvious risk to our lives.”
“One day we could be going home and the hill could come down on us burying us alive or pushing us over the cliff. Maybe, if something like that happens then whoever would do something serious to try and get rid of this thing. For years the earth coming down. Just now it wouldn’t have no hill here.”
Another resident, a fisherman from Maracas Bay, who wished not to be identified, said that whenever land slides and blocked off the North Coast Road they cannot ply their trade.
“Everything is affected. We cannot get our fish sold to the vendors who come up here to buy wholesale from us. How will we make our money when the roads blocked off for days sometimes because of the landslides and the danger?” he asked.
Councillor of the Maracas Bay/Santa Cruz/La Fillette area, Lyndon Lara said that he believes that nothing could be done to bring about a permanent solution.
“This is an area where there are regular landslides and it is too dangerous even for excavators to go up there. I think nothing can’t be done and there will continue to be landslips and when that occurs clean-up operations will just have to be done every time,” Lara said.
“I don’t think the quality of the soil is good enough. Once the earth is saturated it would have land slippage,” he said.
In a release issued yesterday, the ministry advised that one lane of the roadway is currently open to allow the flow of vehicles; “however, moderate traffic is expected as a result of this and the presence of heavy equipment and workers on site.”
It said a technical team from the Ministry is also conducting further remedial work such as the removal of loose trees and soil that cause an immediate threat, and are “examining possible preventative measures such as benching of the slope.”