Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Arianna Lake left her home in Point Fortin for a 10 am appointment at the San Fernando General Hospital an hour earlier yesterday anticipating traffic congestion.
However it was smooth sailing for Lake who left Point Fortin at 7.10 am expecting to arrive after 9 am but got to her destination an hour earlier because the taxi she travelled in drove on the new portion of the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension to Point Fortin. Too early for her appointment, she had to find ways to pass the time.
“From Vance River to San Fernando, it took us eight minutes, and I was surprised. I didn’t know what to say, and the terrain . . . looking at it from my point of view, I was like, oh my gosh! Trinidad is really a beautiful place,” she said as she sat in a taxi in San Fernando, ready to return home.
Another commuter, Alison Harry, said her trip took 30 minutes. Outside of peak traffic hours, the trip along the Southern Main Road takes 45 minutes to an hour.
“It will do a lot for Point Fortin. It will be exciting. People coming from Port-of-Spain to Point will arrive very fast,” Harry said.
Taxi drivers on the San Fernando to Point Fortin were pleased that the Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT) opened the section of the highway that connects La Brea to Rousillac. They can now drive on smooth roads from Vance River to San Fernando.
O’Shea Noel said the Point Fortin to San Fernando Taxi Drivers’ Association held several meetings with Point Fortin MP Kennedy Richards Jr and Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan over two months and had asked for access to the new section of the highway as soon as possible. The MOWT granted it in time for the new school year.
“The drive is a breeze. You take your normal traffic on the Creek, then go down the highway and reach Vance in no time. Vance River is about ten minutes from (South) Oropouche,” he said.
Noel said it used to him an hour and 20 minutes along the Southern Main Road because of fleets of trucks, accidents, stalled vehicles and poor road conditions. He said the highway extension saves drivers 20 minutes and reduces wear and tear on their vehicles. However, gas consumption remains the same.
Fellow taxi driver Nicholas Modeste said passengers are choosing taxis that use the highway route rather than the Southern Main Road as it takes less than 30 minutes to get to San Fernando.
“It is working out pretty good for myself and the passengers because it is quicker, and the wear and tear on the vehicle by not going through the village is pretty good,” Modeste said.
He expects a lot of tourists to visit Point Fortin when the highway extension is completed at the end of September. However, he said Trinidadians are always in a rush, late or busy and find the speed limit is too slow. Even passengers ask drivers to drive faster.
“Even though the speed limit is 80, 90, you will get somebody doing 140, 150. But you have to go at a speed that you can handle. You cannot go at a speed that you cannot handle, or you will run off the road,” he said.
Harold Codrington continues to operate his 24-seat maxi-taxi on the Southern Main Road. He said using the road was challenging until the MOWT patched several areas around the August 14 Local Government Elections. However, it is still costly to maintain vehicles as drivers often have to replace springs, brakes and bushings.
While the additional highway access is a plus for some passengers, it can inconvenience those travelling between La Brea, Rousillac and Aripero as there are fewer transportation options along those routes.
“Right now in Rousillac they dug across the road. There is a sort of depression and now that school reopened it is causing a backup. That needs to be rectified. There are other holes in La Brea. They did a little work but there are still some holes where WASA dug up and that needs to be rectified,” Codrington said.
