Mr Anthony Cipriani, one of the more vocal residents, said while he is fed up with complaining to officials from the Ministry of Works, he was further incensed recently when his grand-daughter fell as a result of one of the protruding rods at the exposed works and severely bruised her back.

According to the Agricola resident, the steel rods were used to fortify the road structure during the construction of the four-lane highway on the East Bank some years ago.

However, even before completion of the project, residents had observed that several pieces of the steel rods which were left protruding could pose a serious danger to unsuspecting persons.

The observation, along with the need to have entrances and exits to homes which were damaged to facilitate the construction of the highway repaired, was brought to the attention of the supervising officials on the ground.

Cipriani said he even spoke to Mr Walter Willis who, they observed, had played an integral role in the construction of the highway, and he had promised to have the area revisited and the irritants removed.

But according him, while no remedial work was done to the entrances in Agricola and Mc Doom, workmen were observed repairing entrances in Eccles.

The resident, who operates a business below his residence, said as a result of the damage to his entrance, his children whenever they visit can no longer park their vehicles in the yard even though there is parking space for about three vehicles.

He further suggested that as a result of the fatal accidents near the junction leading into the village, officials from the Traffic Department of the Police Force should revisit the idea of allowing traffic leaving the village for the city to access the western carriageway.

Cipriani is of the view that vehicles coming from inside the village should instead travel a little further south, in the vicinity of the National Flour Mill road, where the situation is more ideal and allows for greater flexibility by drivers to join the western carriageway.

Also, that a pedestrian crossing should be placed somewhere close to the entrance to the village.

Cipriani expressed his disgust too, at the clogged drains on both sides of the roadway in the village that serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Reached by telephone for a comment, Mr Willis, Technical Advisor to Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Robeson Benn, who was en route to the City from a visit to Blairmont, acknowledged that defects exist on the highway with the protruding steel rods.

He said however, a physical check would have to be made to ascertain the amount of work that has to be done, following which a report of the concerns would be submitted to the Minister and the Permanent Secretary.

Willis, though assuring that the situation would be rectified, was not in a position to say how soon.

And, responding to the issue of the damaged bridges, he said each resident in the villages along the East Bank where the four-lane highway was constructed and whose bridge was damaged to effect the construction, “was given a new bridge made of concrete.”