Wide-scale road patching coming – State Minister Lawrence

State Minister for Transport and Works, Hon Othneil Lawrence, is advising that a wide-scale spray patching programme is being launched to effect minor repairs to roadways across the country.

The minister, who has been touring many areas across the country while opening a number of roads and other facilities that have been completed under the Jamaica Infrastructure Development Programme (JDIP), noted that spray patching material had recently been acquired and more was expected shortly, to allow the National Works Agency (NWA) to lead a meaningful programme of short-term repair of roadways island-wide. The repair programme is to be done in phases, beginning with a cluster of parishes, including Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Catherine and St. Ann.

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State Minister Lawrence has been heading up the Transport and Works Ministry over recent weeks in the absence of Minister Mike Henry, who is away on vacation.

The initial phase of the patching programme in the Corporate Area will include Knutsford Boulevard, Spanish Town Road, Dumfries Road, Hagley Park Road, Marcus Garvey Drive, East Road, Waltham Park Road, Carmel Avenue, Upper Carmel Avenue, Sunset Drive, Cherry View, Whitehall Avenue, Red Hills Road, Perkins Boulevard, Molynes Road, Lyndhurst Road, Maxfield Avenue, Eastwood Park Road, Sir Florizel Glasspole Highway, Michael Manley Boulevard, Camp Road, Oxford Road, Tom Redcam Avenue, Windward Road and National Heroes’ Circle.

The patching in St. Catherine will begin in the Bog Walk, Sligoville and Spanish Town areas, including the road between Sligoville and Red Hills in St. Andrew.

In St. Ann, the patching works will include the following roads: Bamboo to Green Park, Bamboo to Browns Town, Stewart Town to Browns Town, Discovery Bay to Browns Town, Green Park to St. Ann’s Bay, Hopewell to Ocho Rios, roadways in St. Ann’s Bay, Priory to Bamboo, Clay Ground to Lime Hall, Runaway Bay to Orange Valley, Stewart Town to Discovery Bay, Golden Grove to Davis Town, Lime Hall to New Ground, Cave Valley to Alexandria to Grenock Bridge; Claremont to Harmony Vale, Harmony Vale to Pedro River, Bonneville to Ballentoy, Hopewell to Goshen, St. Ann’s Bay to Lime Hall via Sussex; Golden Spring to Lime Hall, and Huntley Crescent.

“We recognise the challenges being faced with the state of many roadways across the island and are doing the best we can with the limited resources, to respond to the needs out there,” outlined Minister Lawrence. “In various phases, we will be looking to address the short-term repair needs across roadways in the other parishes and additional roads in the parishes being engaged in the first phase of the programme,” he added.

He urged public patience as the programme is rolled out, noting that “our road network has been generally in a bad state for decades, and is only now getting anywhere near the necessary remedial attention, through the JDIP in a long-term sense, and programmes like this spray patching drive from a short-term perspective."

Contact: Reginald Allen

Tel: 319-0415/406-5718