PHILIPSBURG:--- The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure (VROMI) announces the successful completion of emergency landslide stabilization works in Ebenezer Road, a key milestone in improving hillside safety ahead of the peak 2025 hurricane season.
The stabilization intervention addressed a critical landslide threat that emerged following significant soil movement in mid-2024. The situation posed an immediate danger to nearby homes, public infrastructure, and stormwater channels in the area, with blocked drainage posing a heightened risk of flooding to residents of Ebenezer.
This emergency effort follows years of community complaints and safety concerns dating back to 2010, regarding the way the hillside was being excavated. Between 2020 and 2022, the residents of Ebenezer submitted several letters to the Ministry of VROMI about the eroding hill face and the impact of falling soil. The tropical storms in early August 2024 exacerbated the state of erosion, resulting in the collapse of a septic tank and cistern onto properties below, which caused further drain blockage and threatened the complete collapse of the hill face. The situation in the area was worsened by the rains on Saint Martin Day in November 2024, which resulted in severe island-wide flooding.
The Ministry, under the leadership of Minister Patrice Gumbs, finalized the halted three-year tender process for trench cleaning, issuing contracts for regular maintenance in mid-August. To support the operationalization of these contracts and to address the complaints and safety concerns of the residents, the Ministry identified the repairs of the trench and the stabilization of the eroded cliff face as critical. Assessments began at the end of August 2024, were completed in February 2025, and work on the hill face began on March 10th, 2025.
“This project demonstrates the importance of civil works permits, responsible property development, and sound spatial planning,” said Minister Gumbs. Since its reintroduction in 2021, civil works permits have been irregularly applied. The Ministry began drafting a procedural manual in late 2024 to make clear when and how to apply civil works permits. The Ministry is busy with preparations for external stakeholder review and subsequent implementation.
Key project highlights:
- Emergency works included shotcrete nailed wall construction, slope anchoring, and the clearing and restoration of the public drainage trench.
- The solution, with proper maintenance, has a significant lifespan and allows for natural revegetation (greening) of the hill face.
- The stabilization was completed in just under three months, ahead of peak storm activity.
- The project was executed by AcrobatX, one of the few specialized geotechnical contractors operating in our subregion..
- This intervention underscores the government's proactive approach to climate adaptation and infrastructure resilience.
- The residents of the area are now safer and better protected against erosion, landslides, and flash flooding.
This intervention was prioritized over other areas, due to the urgency highlighted by last year’s tropical storms and erosion-induced structural collapses that were a risk to not only homes but lives as well. Further along the hill face, a secondary intervention is planned, which, once completed, will involve fixing the Ebenezer trench. This trench drains water from the hills of South Reward through all of Dutch Cul-de Sac and down to the Philipburg basin. One resident offered the following quote: “In the 15 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen the total length of this trench maintained and cleaned. This is big step towards this”
The company that took on the task of remedying the catastrophe, AcrobatX, listed some of the following reasons as the causes of the landslide:
- Attempting to enlarge the properties using backfill without any proper reinforcement (since granodiorite (a type of rock in parts of the area) is very easy to dig and changes to the texture of sand under weight)
- Subsurface water circulation is due to the lack of proper drainage built into the retaining wall. This increased the pressure, initiating the landslides.
Julien Ripert, the CEO of ACROBAT X (special works) & Rocks & Risks (geotechnical study office) stated that “I am glad to see that following my presentation to the Members of Parliament in 2022, there is now a strong will to make Sint Maarten better in the area of enhanced construction regulation and in this scope to manage better the geotechnical context of construction.”
The Ministry has submitted a request to include a dedicated landslide mitigation line in the national budget to support similar critical interventions moving forward. “We are committed to identifying and addressing other high-risk areas across the country, not just reactively, but through sustained, forward-thinking policies.” Minister Gumbs explained.
Residents are thanked for their continued cooperation and are encouraged to remain vigilant as the hurricane season progresses.
