If you drink from St. Mary's Spring, legend has it that you'll always come back to the islands. But if you fall in the nearby crack in the road, you may never return at all.
The crack is being monitored on an ongoing basis, said Al McKean, road and bridge manager of the local Ministry of Highways.
"The movement is minimalÂ… it's basically stopped moving now," said Mr. McKean, attributing the recent widening to the Christmas Eve storm. "There is a fault line to the south of St. Mary's, but the damage is caused by the movement of a softer material between harder materials." This action is called a 'slide' in geological terms.
The crack was recently covered with filler, but a more permanent fix can be expected in the summer, depending on funding, according to Mr. McKean. This permanent fix would probably be a recontouring of the slope or construction of a berm.
"The crack is normally patched every two years." Mr. McKean said."Our geotechnical branch is keeping a close eye on it."