Rozelle Roadway Opened to Vehicular Traffic

The Rozelle main road in St. Thomas, which was blocked due to Hurricane Ivan, is now open to vehicular traffic, even as emergency repairs continue.
Jonathan Robinson, Project Manager at Ian Johnson Construction Limited, which is undertaking the repair work, told JIS News that workmen had filled the huge gaps in the roadway with shingles composed of stone, sand and gravel. He said that additional work had to be done to other sections of the roadway to allow for two-lane traffic.
Mr. Robinson said the repairs would be inspected by the National Works Agency (NWA), which will be responsible for doing additional reinforcement work along the seashore.
“We have to wait on the National Works Agency to do a proper assessment and to come up with the designs as to what was needed in this area,” he added. He said work at the site began last Sunday when the roadway was cleared of a kilometre of fallen trees and debris.
“The actual cleaning up of the entire area will be completed within the next two weeks after the works agency makes their assessment and come up with a cost, but emergency repairs is what we are doing now,” he said.
Corporal Osbourne Barnes from the Morant Bay Traffic Division, who has been monitoring operations at the worksite since Sunday, said his job was to ease traffic congestion and prevent persons from hampering the work crew. He noted that a few “impatient persons” using the road have been getting in the way of the heavy-duty equipment and vehicles.
According to the policeman, motorists were being permitted to use the road from time to time, despite ongoing repair work. “We cannot stop the vehicles totally, because there are emergency situations that have to be attended to, so we have to use our discretion and allow some of them to go through,” he said.
Corporal Barnes noted that there were sections of the roadway that were badly eroded and advised that motorists used the road with “extreme caution.” “I will advise motorists not to go too close to the broken asphalt, because it can cave in and throw them over into the sea,” he said, adding that officers at the traffic division would be closely monitoring that section of the roadway even after repairs were completed to ensure the safety of road users.