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The Elmina Clarke-Allen Highway which connects Cumuto to Sangre Grande appears to be under threat from a nearby landslide one month after being opened on the eve of the general election.
A video posted to social media by a motorist shows a section of land between the highway and a nearby drain collapsing. The video showed the compromised area ending just under the guard rail and the edge of the paved road. It also showed what appeared to be a crack already forming along the edge of the road.
"I walking here and literally sinking in this," the man filming the video said.
Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jearlean John told Newsday she was aware of the situation and plans to visit the site next week with a technical team to assess the road.
President of the Association of Professional Engineers of TT Lendel Bethelmy said judging from what he saw in the video, the collapse could be due to erosion.
"It usually occurs when the surface being eroded is not properly protected, steep and water is allowed to run over it in an uncontrolled manner."
While he said further rainfall could worsen the damage, it requires a relatively easy fix using erosion control measures like lining or grassing the sloped surface.
"Issues like this generally do not happen very early post-construction as during design and construction, engineers often try to anticipate potential failure modes and mitigate against it. However, I’m certain that the engineers that (sic) were involved in the project are aware of the issue and are working towards developing a solution."
He added: "I cannot comment as to why it (lining or grassing the surface) was not initially implemented as I was not directly involved, but as the older heads often say, hindsight is usually 20/20. Various challenges can occur on a project of this nature and I cannot comment as to why it was not initially implemented. But more importantly, we should try to focus on what we are or should be doing about the issue at hand and how can we prevent or stymie occurrences."
The highway was opened on April 24, four days before the general election, and came with a bill of $500 million. It was part of a project by the former PNM-led administration to extend the Churchill Roosevelt Highway down to Manzanilla. The seven-kilometre stretch of road was named after former Toco/Manzanilla MP Elmina Clarke-Allen, who was also an avid activist in Sangre Grande.
Newsday was unable to get a comment from former works and transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and former prime minister Stuart Young who opened the project.
The post Erosion threatens newly opened Sangre Grande highway appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.