Potholes on L.B. Scott Road. (John Halley photo)
PHILIPSBURG--Heavy rains over the course of two nights have caused nearly 200 new potholes to emerge on St. Maarten’s roads, highlighting the island’s long-standing infrastructure challenges. Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure VROMI Patrice Gumbs addressed the issue during Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing, describing the situation as significant but manageable.
“A large amount of work needs to be done, but it is not insurmountable,” Gumbs said, referencing the extensive damage caused by recent extreme weather conditions. To date, 95 potholes have been repaired in areas such as Beacon Hill, Maho, Airport Road, Welfare Road in Simpson Bay, Union Road in Cole Bay, L.B. Scott Road, and Walter Nisbeth Road in Philipsburg. The cost of these repairs amounted to 56,100 Netherlands Antillean guilders.
However, many roads remain in dire need of attention, particularly Arch Road, Sucker Garden Road, and the Dutch Quarter area, which Gumbs identified as having the highest concentration of potholes yet to be addressed.
Gumbs explained that the island’s lack of adequate drainage systems is a major factor exacerbating road damage. “The biggest challenge we have on St. Maarten is drainage,” he said. “The patchwork that we have done for a number of years has literally peeled off the road because of the lack of proper drainage.”
The VROMI Ministry restarted a road resurfacing project two months ago, but progress was interrupted by the heavy rains. Gumbs said resurfacing work cannot resume until the roads are no longer saturated with water. The onset of the high tourist season has further complicated the situation, as the government seeks to balance road repairs with maintaining open traffic flow for visitors travelling around the island.
In the interim, the ministry plans to focus on patching and preserving existing infrastructure where possible. Full resurfacing efforts are expected to resume in January.
“We have to strike a balance between road works and leaving the right of way open for traffic,” Gumbs said, asking the community for patience. “Please manage expectations. We cannot fix every road in St. Maarten in the space of a month,” he said, emphasising the time required for such work. “It takes about one week to fix one mid-sized road.”
Gumbs acknowledged that St. Maarten’s infrastructure issues are long-standing and not solely the result of recent rains. “The rain exposed the critical issues that we are facing as a country,” he said. While the weather brought the problems to light, the lack of a robust drainage system and years of inadequate road maintenance have compounded the situation.
The minister assured the public that the VROMI Ministry is committed to addressing the issues systematically. However, he stressed that sustainable infrastructure solutions will require time, resources, and cooperation from all stakeholders.
