A REVIEW of rural roads by the Ministry of Land and Environment, following the flooding caused by Tropical storms Isidore and Lili, last September, identified the need for the rehabilitation of drains, as well as repairs to road pavements and retaining walls in a number of rural communities.
In November, Cabinet approved rehabilitation funds in the sum of $204.95 million, to repair the damage to the infrastructure in all parishes, based on estimates provided by the National Works Agency (NWA) and the Parish Councils. A further sum of $55 million was earmarked for the NWA to carry out repairs, including $15 million for river training at the Bull Park River in St. Thomas.
Land and Environment Minister, Dean Peart, said that "while emergency repairs focused on clearing major arterial and secondary roads during and immediately after the flood rains, a number of severely affected rural roads have not yet been repaired."
The Minister noted that there was still the need to clear silt and debris from sinkholes and other drainage outlets, and confirmed that some of the repairs were on-going, based on maintenance contracts that were already in place.
"The overall cost for repairs will be significant," NWA chief executive officer, Ivan Anderson pointed out. "In the interim, the $204.95 million allocated by Cabinet will be used to carry out emergency works, such as clearing and repairing drains, removing landslides and repairing retaining walls."
He noted that the work should be done in three phases. "Safety issues will be dealt with, then investigation to re-establish drainage systems, followed by the rehabilitation and rebuilding of roads," Mr. Anderson said.
The CEO pointed out that the majority of the roadwork has been identified and prioritised by technical officers, some aspects are already in progress in some parishes, and other projects would come on stream during the next two months.
The rehabilitation programme is being supervised by the NWA. Payments for all work will be made by the agency, after certification and approval by its Parish and Regional Managers.
