The Roads Buildings and General Services Authority is said to be helping in the construction of a wall at Belmont, after the collapse of the original wall damaged the roadway, making it near impassable.

Blame for the collapse is being passed around but, road users say they are unhappy with the situation as they did not bargain for the inconvenience now being encountered given that this is the only access route to and from that part of the village.

Reports on the slippage of the road, leading inwards across from the Rose’s residence surfaced on December 10, and some villagers have shared what they think may have helped to undermine the retaining wall made worse by heavy rainfall in April.

One of the villagers, surname given as Jack, pointed to signs of breakage in the roadway before the volcanic eruptions. When the wall fell, empty oil drums were placed to guide road users which portion of the road to use.

A new retaining wall is currently under constuction, with the assistance of BRAGSA, but the work does not appear to be going at as fast a pace to satisfy users of the roadway.

No one at the Roads, Buildings and General Services Authority (BRAGSA), seemed willing to speak in an official capacity when contacted.

The Chief Engineer is currently on vacation; however, an employee of the Ministry of Works who asked not to be named said: “I think the focus on recovery following the eruptions- and I work with the government, I know how stretched we have been since the eruptions working in shelters, moving packages, and other duties- would have taken attention away from what was happening right under our noses. I for one had completely forgotten this road was already breaking till it actually happened.”

According to the employee, following the reports of the land slippage, an investigation was conducted which is guiding the rebuilding process.

“Water tends to weaken the strength of the soil, and hence it makes it more susceptible to certain types of failure.”

He said no one would want a repeat of this situation and so all possible precautions would be taken toward ensuring a proper job is done.