Despite the long-term benefits anticipated from the ongoing reconstruction of La Resource Road, the ongoing works have caused significant disruptions for the community, including a school in the area.
According to principal Roselinda Pultie, the Plain View Combined School has had to deal with noise, dust, and safety concerns caused by heavy equipment and traffic disruptions.
“While we welcome the construction of a new road—we definitely needed it—this has some negative impact on our school community,” Pultie told St Lucia Times. “For the past few days, we’ve had to contend with noise from heavy equipment, and dust. Additionally, some drivers are not paying attention to the speed bumps that were placed there. These issues have created safety concerns for our students.”
To alleviate congestion during drop-off times, the school has implemented measures such as advising parents to avoid parking and asking caretakers to guide pedestrian traffic.
Despite these efforts, the ongoing roadworks and limited police support have continued to create challenges.
Bus drivers operating along the route have also expressed frustration with the disruption, although they acknowledged the need for the reconstruction.
One bus driver told St Lucia Times, on condition of anonymity: “The road works, it’s a good thing that was going on, but at the same time it was an inconvenience because some of us had to drop passengers or school children and we had to make the whole run, go back to Benfield to drop people at the other end; whereas I think they could have used a single lane to do the road and followed the work on the other lane instead of closing up the entire road. So it wasn’t profitable at the same time.”
The 2.2-kilometre stretch of La Resource Road, which extends from the St Jude Highway to the La Resource Bridge, has been in disrepair for years. Three years ago, Construction and Industrial Equipment Ltd was commissioned to design and estimate the cost of the reconstruction. Official approval was granted, and work began on December 17, 2024.
The road works and landscaping are expected to be completed by the end of this month.
It’s a long stretch of road so we all just have to be patient. I thank the government for repairing that long stretch of road
Less minivans are traveling from Soufriere to Castries due to the terrible condition of the route. As a result, there are long waiting hours for a bus to arrive. Monday, it was 2+ hours. School children are getting home late in the evenings. Some could have even been stranded in Castries. There is also a massive rush towards the approaching vehicle. Did I say an incident in the making?
This perilous situation must be addressed promptly. Another man-made construction debacle. Seems as if there’s factory turning them out.
TWENTY YEARS we have been waiting for the government to repair Gais Bois Road.