Seawall garbage to blame for Rupert Craig Highway flooding -engineer

Accumulation of water on the southern carriageway of the Rupert Craig Highway has been blamed on the garbage dumped on the seawall by persons who congregate there on Sunday evenings.

The problem is one that commuters along that roadway would have observed as occurring during periods of high tide or heavy rainfall; water settles on the carriageway creating a potential traffic hazard as can be seen in the photo at the side.

An engineer at the Ministry of Public Works, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the situation developed mainly because of garbage that finds its way into the underground conduits designed to accommodate water running off the structure.

He noted that the subterranean drainage structures were covered by grates, large steel grills designed to catch garbage floating toward the drain, to allow for the efficient run-off of water.

Unfortunately, sometime during the height of the increased demand for scrap metal, the grills were removed by persons looking for the commodity to sell. The engineer revealed that the ministry has on two occasions replaced the grates in addition to expending close to $1M on the infrastructural work there.

He blamed the damaged public infrastructure on the dumping of refuse on the seawall on Sunday evenings. The engineer observed that following the Sunday even-ing affairs there is a huge amount of garbage left behind that contributes to the accumulation of water on the southern carriageway.

The issue of garbage being dumped on the seawall has been aired before but nothing has come of it, the engineer said, adding that people need to take more pride in their surroundings and desist from dumping their used food containers and other garbage around the seawall. Other observers say the flooding problem was also evident before the congregations on the seawall started.

Accumulation of water on the southern carriageway of the Rupert Craig Highway has been blamed on the garbage dumped on the seawall by persons who congregate there on Sunday evenings.

The problem is one that commuters along that roadway would have observed as occurring during periods of high tide or heavy rainfall; water settles on the carriageway creating a potential traffic hazard as can be seen in the photo at the side.

An engineer at the Ministry of Public Works, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the situation developed mainly because of garbage that finds its way into the underground conduits designed to accommodate water running off the structure.

He noted that the subterranean drainage structures were covered by grates, large steel grills designed to catch garbage floating toward the drain, to allow for the efficient run-off of water.

Unfortunately, sometime during the height of the increased demand for scrap metal, the grills were removed by persons looking for the commodity to sell. The engineer revealed that the ministry has on two occasions replaced the grates in addition to expending close to $1M on the infrastructural work there.

He blamed the damaged public infrastructure on the dumping of refuse on the seawall on Sunday evenings. The engineer observed that following the Sunday even-ing affairs there is a huge amount of garbage left behind that contributes to the accumulation of water on the southern carriageway.

The issue of garbage being dumped on the seawall has been aired before but nothing has come of it, the engineer said, adding that people need to take more pride in their surroundings and desist from dumping their used food containers and other garbage around the seawall. Other observers say the flooding problem was also evident before the congregations on the seawall started.