Holness calls for Jamaicans to be patient with road maintenance works

While approximately $6 billion has been allocated for various road maintenance projects nationally, Prime Minister Andrew Holness is calling on Jamaicans to be patient as the works get under way.

The state of the nation's roads have come under sharp focus after several recent weather systems, including Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Rafael, left some of nation's roads with huge potholes last year.

Scores of residents and motorists have been left frustrated, as the state of such roads has impacted the ease of daily commute.

Holness, speaking recently to reporters at the project site of the Government's $45 billion Shared Prosperity Through Accelerated Improvement to Our Road Network (SPARK) Project on Everest Drive in the East Kingston and Port Royal constituency, acknowledged that the money that has been allocated under the road maintenance budget is not enough, but said it represents a significant increase.

"We have increased significantly now not just the capital budget, but also the routine maintenance budget," he said.

According to Holness, the National Works Agency (NWA) usually received over $1 billion to do routine road maintenance nationally.

"Now, since July, since the passage of Hurricane Beryl, we have provided approximately $3 billion for REACH (Relief Emergency Assistance and Community Help) Programme, another $2 billion for emergency (road repairs), and we have provided through the... constituency mitigation programme another $1.5 billion.

"So, we have rapidly and significantly increased the budget for road maintenance; you're looking at about $6 billion now..., but I'd be the first to tell you that $6 billion is not enough," Holness stated.

On that score, he urged Jamaicans to exercise patience with the works that are being carried out on various roadways.

Additionally, he also cautioned residents about their expectations that the roads being built under SPARK will last forever.

"In the concept of the Jamaican people, when we build a road we expect it to last forever. No road lasts forever!" Holness declared.

Continuing, he said: "There's a notion in our minds that back in the days when the roads were built with the broken stones, it lasted for 40 years.

"That may be the case 40 years ago when you only had 80,000 cars in Jamaica, when you didn't have heavy trucks, and the weather was understood and stable. Today, it is a totally different user environment for our roads," Holness suggested.

The prime minister said the "expected life of the roads that we are going to build (under SPARK) is between seven and 15 years.

"I want everyone to appreciate that; that the expected life of the road before major maintenance is needed would be between seven and 15 years," Holness stated.

He noted that persons should bear in mind that if "a longer engineered period" is considered, for example 15 to 20 years, "the price of the road rapidly doubles", and "the 630 roads that we have assessed under the SPARK programme would probably come down to 300 (roads)."

China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) has been awarded the contract for work to be undertaken on roads across all parishes under the SPARK project.

The work are to be undertaken in four packages, commencing in St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew. These will be followed by St Catherine and Clarendon; Manchester, St Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Hanover; and St James, Trelawny, St Mary, St Ann and Portland.