THE MINISTRY of Transport and Works has received estimates of road damage caused by recent heavy rainfalls.
Addressing journalists on Monday after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill said the estimates were presented at the meeting.
He noted, however, that Cabinet requested the convening of the ministry's infrastructure committee to examine estimates with the Ministry of Finance. These estimates are to be submitted to Parliament next week.
"The estimates were prepared in a way that indicated the effect it (rain) had on main roads in the various parishes," Mr. Pickersgill said.
He added that 22 main roads were affected in Clarendon, 12 in Manchester, 22 in Kingston and St. Andrew, and 30 in St. Catherine.
In total the flood rains have affected a total of 149 main roads islandwide.
Mr. Pickersgill said on Monday that the estimates included repairs to bridges, river training work, rehabilitation of gullies and retaining walls, and the cost to reopen roads.
The minister said that the Yallahs fording was still impassable but that the National Works Agency (NWA) had begun de-silting operation to have it reopened this weekend.
Mr. Pickersgill reported that the Bog Walk Gorge was re-opened to traffic, adding that that the draining of a median along Mandela Highway and the excavation of sections the Duhaney and Ferry rivers were in progress. Traffic snarled along Mandela Highway recently, especially on the west-bound lane, following the heavy rains.
