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NWA Resumes NARIP Rehabilitation Projects

October 14, 2004

The Full Story

The National Works Agency (NWA) has resumed work on several road rehabilitation projects under the National Road Improvement Programme (NARIP).Senior Communication Officer at the NWA, Colin Morrison told JIS News that funds received from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Flood Damage Programme would be used to complete these projects.
The approximately $5 billion NARIP was established in 2001 to rehabilitate approximately 1,000 kilometres of roadway throughout Jamaica’s 14 parishes. Under this programme, the NWA sought to repair some 158 roads. Thirty-eight of these have not yet been completed.
Earlier this year, the National Works Agency (NWA) invited tenders for these incomplete NARIP roads and other rehabilitation works and following this exercise, 11 contracts were awarded for the 38 incomplete works to be continued.
In Portland, six projects were earmarked for completion. “In St. Margaret’s Bay to Rockhall, the activity presently taking place is grading, cleaning of the drains and outlets and sinking some NWC pipelines that were on the surface,”Mr. Morrison informed. This road rehabilitation project was restarted in July this year, and should continue for six months.
At Eden in Swift River, Portland, the NWA is undertaking site clearance, earthworks, wire works, stone supply and packing, vegetation and culvert installation. “The tender period for that project was August 9-27, and it has a duration of six months. The start date was October 11, and basically what they are doing is constructing bunds, that is a type of river draining activity,” he further pointed out.
Also in Portland, at Cooper’s Hill, Land Settlement, Dawn Road and Wain Fording, the NWA is carrying out a number of activities including site clearance, earthworks, pavement construction and the construction of drainage and retaining walls. Each of these rehabilitation projects, which commenced on October 11 are expected to take three months to complete.
Meanwhile, earlier this month the NWA began rehabilitative work along the Beecher Town/Milford road sections in the parish of St. Ann. This project has also been scheduled for six months.
“The activities involve earthworks, scarifying (using a spiked front-end loader to loosen topsoil along the roadway) and shaping, rolling and formation of the roadway. Prior to this, the site was being cleared of debris deposited by Hurricane Ivan,” Mr. Morrison disclosed. In Trelawny, the NWA will focus on a number of roads to be repaired and in some areas, reconstructed.
Along the Albert Town to Ulster Spring road and Albert Town to Troy, the agency is constructing drainage infrastructure, base course works, patching existing road surfaces and double surface dressing of reconstructed sections. The duration of each of these projects is three months.
In St. Andrew, work has begun on the Hope River Bridge, where a gabion wall, masonry walls, spillways and rock fill will be constructed over the next three months. Meanwhile, in Westmoreland, work on the Woodstock to New Market road section should commence on October 18, and be completed in three months.
The NARIP is the first road programme in Jamaica that allows the contractors to ‘police’ themselves and ensure that works are completed according to contract specifications.

Last Updated: October 14, 2004

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