MP Watts acknowledges, but not satisfied with, Factory Road fix, likening it to ‘putting a band-aid on a sore foot’

MP for St. George Algernon “Serpent” Watts is pleased, but far from satisfied, that the Public Works Department has finally undertaken the repair of a dangerous section of the Factory Road.

On Tuesday morning, April 4, a crew from the Ministry of Works began patching a section of Factory Road that fronts both Potters Village homes and a commercial property – a law office.  

The surface and the substrate had been eaten away gradually by the settlement of water and the passage of vehicles – and the crater had stretched to almost halfway across the road in the past two weeks.

While Potters residents have been complaining for years about the unsightly and unsanitary water – and the stench emanating from the stagnant pool – both Watts and Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle had called for the situation to be addressed during the recent Budget Debate.

Watts pointed out, then, that drivers traveling west in that area were being forced to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid falling into the deep and jagged crater – thereby creating a dangerous situation for themselves and others.

The MP noted, too, that Factory Road borders both St. George and the constituency of Rural East, which is represented by Minister of Works Maria Browne, to whom he had written, asking for the repair of this stretch.

However, the solution – what he describes as “putting some sugarcake in a cavity” – is not enough to address the health hazard and eyesore on this major roadway, he says.  

While the hole appears to have been filled in and the surface rolled – making driving safer – Watts remains concerned that the root of the problem has not been corrected.  

Patching the pothole without addressing the stagnant pool of water undermining the road is like “putting a band-aid on a sore foot,” he says.

Finally, the St. George MP points to the millions of dollars that have been earmarked for road rehabilitation.  He is hoping that some of it will be put toward a “proper” fix as a matter of priority – before someone is seriously hurt in a vehicular accident or on account of the accumulated green, slimy water.