A geotechnical team from Martinique is expected to arrive in Dominica on August 29th, 2011 to conduct a detailed investigation of the road slippage at Antrim.
Honourable Minister for Public Works, Energy and Ports, Rayburn Blackmoore, confirmed last week that there has been tremendous movement in the area, making it extremely difficult to apply asphalt concrete pavements.
He said that while they are awaiting the arrival of the geotechnical team they have decided to apply base material in order to facilitate the smooth flow of vehicular traffic, in the area.
“In the interim, we have done certain things in terms of trying to stabilize the area. You may have seen that DOWASCO had to replace pipes from iron pipes to more flexible pipes so it can withstand the movement and also down the slope towards the riverside to create drainage to really extract the water from the foundation,” he pointed out.
Honourable Blackmoore says Government will implement the recommendations of the geotechnical team.
“The team will commence work the first week in September. The expectation is that it will take place them about five weeks to complete their investigation. That will entail the boring of holes to get to the depth of that weakness and they may have to leave some kind of equipment to really measure the movement over a period of time,” he said.
Government has also secured approximately €79, 000 for the purpose of that investigation.
god in his wisdom send us UWP they saw the need 4 the jimmit/warner road and was doing the despot/campbell dominicans said they were fooling us now layou bridge is been distroyed antrim sinking and the same dominicans crying oh how foolish we were god will help us again one day.
The area in question is adjacent to mrs. Inglis and the late Dr. bernard Yankee. I believe a sculptor also lives in the area. Dr. Yankee warned Gardakhan about that area. Does anyone know of an area above Miranda’s bar called Red Gully??? Take a drive up towards Pond Casse and u will come across a stretch of land in the valley filled with red clay. That place is called Red Gully. That mountain was cut during excavation works. ALL OF THE EXCAVATED MATERIAL WAS DUMPED IN THAT SINGLE DUMPSITE AT ANTRIM. ideal recipe for disaster. almost HALF A MOUNTAIN deposited in one single spot overhanging a river. forestry never noticed that the trees were losing thee leaves like it was winter. Dr. Yankee pointed that out to me in person. he feared a natural disaster would be inevitable in the future if someone doesnt tell Gardakhan to stop dumping red gully material in this one spot.
I hope de info serves us well
thank you sir
…but i still believe is because Austrie living there.
just kidding ADMIN just kidding heh heh heh
ADMIN: RD, you looking for my tongue eh. Hmmmm. lol
well ADMIN today is my lightyen up day.
glad to make u smile a bit
ADMIN: Lol
Thank you chicken man!
i had more but DNO take it out
heh heh heh
hence the “hence” correction.
but thats ok. i will send my lawyer to them “shortly”. Tony Astaphan
What about building a bridge going through, around or over that general area. Of course it must be throughly engineered and placed on stable footings like solid rock if possible.
A lot of that slippage area may have to be dug out.
Going through Cockrane is not a very viable idea due to the existing steep,narrow roads.
Antrim is located after Roger (upper Canefield). You may know Miranda Corner and the house for Von Royer (Best Deal Rental). They are all in the vicinity.
For decades the underground stream has been flowing.
This is what happens when persons/contractors who are not Dominican born are give projects.
The contractor dumped millions of tons of CLAY to the North west(downstream) of the stream.
This has not only added load but has impeded the water flow.
Hence the accelerated rate of slippage
“As expected” has made a correct assessment of the problem. The clay landfill has interrupted the flow of ground water and surface water. Hence, pressure and saturation, which in turn results in slippage. This is not an act of God, this is the folly of man.
In the interim Antrim is slipping awayyyyyyyyyy. There appears to be no easy solution to this land slippage problem. Government will have to seriously consider permanently diverting the Springfield/Antrim Road through Cochrane down to River Estate.
Thought we already knew what was causing the slippage…if not, one possible cause is that when the road was being built, there was major cutting of corners (no pun intended) in that area. One mag 7 earthquake and this whole area can fall apart and form a gigantic vacuum. So it is time to inform the public of the alternative solutions besides stabilization, given the funds available. Keep reporting on the status of all the vulnerable infrastructure on the island…we want no loss of life due to the absence of information, Mr. Minister.
I do hope they have ceased selling land for residential construction in that area!!
Interesting stuff. Depending on the extent of this movement, the slide can be extremely costly to stabilize or even impossible. The investigation taking five weeks is pretty good. I would not be surprise if they need much more time- bring heavy drilling equipment to the site, getting soil samples, testing soils in the lab, and in field, performing analyses of the soil model, and generating a report. Then comes the methods to stabilize which can be very very expensive. In the mean time try sealing any cracks at the top of the slide – minimize water infiltration to any extent practical, and also be alert for the safety of the workers, and residents. Look at the angle of any trees in the area- they often give indication of movement- where the movement is slow, the trunks of the trees are often bent in the direction of movement. Evacuate before disaster hit. Remember soil is about 2 times the weight of water – someone does not have to be completely covered under soil for it to kill. Hope this slide is stabilize soon.
You are an excellent engineer and understand the principles of engineering. However, in light of what is happening in the Antrim area, and possibly adjacent areas,it would be better to work WITH nature rather than to control her.
Investigation – great idea; find out what is happening underneath
Evacuation – Most certainly; prevent any casualties
Stabilize by sealing Cracks? Minimize water infiltration? – I am not sure. Sealing cracks is only a band aid to a chronic festering sore which will inevitably lead to geologic gangrene.
Minimize water filtration? – We would need to additionally put a large tarpaulin over the entire area to prevent rain water (which is more than enough in Dominica) from getting to the bedrock.
My recommend solution? – That woman is uncontrollable and sometimes the best option is to leave Mother Nature alone and get out of her way. Study the extent of potential damage from a worst case scenario. Alert all necessary individuals of possible danger. Take all precaution as is humanly possible, then sit back and watch Mother Nature do her thing and marvel at the experience.
@ Crazy: Your sarcasm is quite funny. On the one hand you are telling’Engineer’ what a brilliant engineer he is and then immediately after that you go on to make a mockery of almost everything which he proposed.
dur
Ha! I thought I was the only one who is not quite familiar with names of villages in Dominica. Just learned of a place called Antrim a few months ago and there are quite a few more.
I not qualify in matters of that type. But if this land slip continues it would be better to start making preparations to construct a fly over or land bridge.
It have flyovers in Gwada and Martinique and US, UK and other places. The foundation would be the valley floor and river bed. Because if those hills and mountains not stable is best we consider that alternative and use plenty manual labour to ease d unemployment strain while at it.
Fly-overs are very costly to construct and maintain. However, because of Dominica’s terrain, we do need to think of road construction much differently than we have in the past. Easy and save travel will definitely spur development in most of our villages if done correctly.
Antrim is on the opposite side of Cochran
Can DNO put on some photos of the area.
I am a dominican born and raised and dont know all the villages, so give the man a break,, [true dominica.]
Wow whats happening? the works of Eddoe and his Flies.
Just drove through there today.. scary
Hey Toutsa, if you are familiar with Google earth, check out D/ca there and locate Antrim. By the way are you Dominican, cause if you are and you forgot where Antrim is then you sold your flag long time.
I pray that the result of their research will be good, and at a level that can be resolved quickly.
AH COME ON. AREN’T YOU BEING A BIT TOO HARSH?
I can’t understand why Dominicans have to be like that.. Sometimes the sand paper is not warranted, there are times we have to be gentle with each other, not abrasive.
Dominicans living in Dominica do not know half of the villages in Dominica and where they are located. But then with all the crime and negative talk on DNO you people are posting one would not blame a Dominican if they sold their flag.
I am in the states and have no idea where antrim is.Landmarks or villages nearby anyone?
I AM JUST TOO HAPPY TO HELP:
ANTRIM IS WHERE REGINALD AUSTRIE STAYING…
I MEAN HENCE
All u know how to kill people with laughter!! lol, I hope he serving plenty chicken breast where he lives too. lol yo pa feb noh!!!!!
For those who don’t know, if you take the “Canefield” route to the Airport, Antrim is about two or three minutes drive from 20th Street Canefield (20th Street is located aroud the big S corner, next to the phone booths – the basketball court is also in that area). If you are going down to Roseau from the Pond Casse area, it is about 10 – 15 minutes drive from the round-about.
Hope this helps.
Thanks. I always wondered where the heck Antrim was located.