Carmen Nanan has lived on the Brazil Arena Road for most of her life.

In those 60 years, she's watched the road in front of her home deteriorate from landslides.

Now, after about 20 feet of the road collapsed on Tuesday making it impassable, Nanan is worried her home will be next.

Work was being done on the road by the Rural Development Company on Tuesday when it collapsed, leaving a gaping hole.

Nanan said she was not at home at the time and was told of the development by a relative.

"I got a call and my sister-in-law told me about it, I didn't know what to say," Nanan recalled.

She said a relative gave her a ride home, past the sign warning motorists to use an alternative route.

Nanan, a retiree, said complaints were made over the years about the state of the road.

"Some years ago, when another government body tried to fix this road, everyone in the area said it was a matter of time before it would collapse. Over the years, it kept dropping and they would come and fill it up and patch it but that was it."

She said parts of the hillside her home was built on were removed by workers repairing the same road over the years. She fears this may cause her home to collapse if the road is not properly repaired.

"Of course I am worried my home will be affected, this has been going on for so long and look at the craziness that is taking place now."

Nanan said there were rumours over the years that the road was built on a spring but she could not say whether that was the case.

"That gentleman died in his 90's, so he would have known the area but I don't know whether it is true."

She said she suffers from back pain, so she cannot walk any long distances to get transportation.

"It is an inconvenience because even though I am retired, sometimes I get called out to work urgently and now, I will have to call someone to drop me and pick me back up every time."

Before Tuesday, Nanan depended on taxis working the route to pick her up on her doorstep.

A supervisor at the nearby Cross Country Supermarket, who gave her name only as Mrs Samaroo, said business had slowed down after the road collapsed.

She said a lot of customers were fearful of detouring through Soriah Trace as it was lonely and pothole-riddled.

"I don't know if you've tried to use the detour but a lot of people are thinking twice about because it is a back road and it is very bad and very lonely, there are a lot of women who drive alone so they don't want to pass there," Samaroo said.

Newsday's team used the detour, which winds through a bushy area, where we noted the absence of streetlights about halfway along Soriah Trace. The road was narrow and in most places, two vehicles could not pass at the same time. There were numerous blind hills, where it was difficult to see oncoming traffic.

The Rural Development Company, a State enterprise, is responsible for the work.

Its chairman, Patricia Alexis visited the site on Thursday. She said she was aware about the complaints about the detour.

"We have liaised with the Ministry o