Some Roadways Reopened; Activities Continue to Clear Major Landslides

The National Works Agency (NWA) has reopened a number of roadways which up to yesterday were impassable. Teams working in affected parishes have so far managed to clear eleven of the 24 corridors which were blocked.

Landslides have been removed from some critical corridors in northern Clarendon and western St. Thomas while activities continue to re-establish access along roadways in east rural St. Andrew.

NWA Communication and Customer Services Manager, Stephen Shaw, says efforts are now concentrated on removing a massive landslide at a section of the Irish Town Road. This, he says, will allow access to a breakaway at a section of the corridor. It will also provide an alternate route to Gordon Town Road, which is impassable due to a major embankment failure in the vicinity of Stand Up Hill.

Material is also being cleared along sections of the corridor from Guava Ridge to Silver Hill Gap to safely re-establish other detours to Gordon Town Road.

Three roadways in Clarendon, St. Catherine and Trelawny are currently still blocked by landslides. These are from Danks to Crofts Hill; Belfield to Planters and Wait-a-Bit to Hector’s River in Trelawny. Equipment have been dispatched to these locations to have the roadways cleared, at least to single lane.

The NWA is advising operators of small units to use alternative routes to the Wire Fence to Warsop and Coleyville to Ballynure corridors in Trelawny and Manchester respectively as sections of both roadways have failed.

Motorists in Trelawny may travel via Albert Town while those in Manchester can use the alternate route through Cane Shop to Devon and then onto Hibernia and Malton.