Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

The flood-prone Palisadoes strip that leads to the Norman Manley International Airport. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

The hurricane season has so far spawned a tempest named of Hurricane Bertha. It posed no threat to Jamaica.

In 2004, Hurricane Ivan inflicted severe damage on the Palisadoes road. In some areas, the sea is now very close to the road.

The Centre for Marine Sciences at the University of the West Indies is assisting in reconstructing the sand dunes along the Palisadoes strip.

Emma Ranston, teaching assistant at the centre, said the undertaking, dubbed. 'The Palisadoes Protection and Rehabilitation Project', is a coordinated effort involving the National Works Agency, the Tourism Product Development Company and consultants from Cuba and Canada. The aim of the project is to find ways of protecting the Palisadoes, which has been breached a number of times. Dunes mainly protect against storm surges.

Eroded by storm surges

Before the hurricane, there were mounds of sand and vegetation, but they have been eroded by storm surges and people, who used the area for jogging, walking and fishing.

Ranston said funding, estimated at US$10 million was granted for the project by the Caribbean Development Bank.

Emergency work commenced in April to alleviate the possibility of road flooding during high tide.

She added: "So, we have boulder bases and sand on top, and we are going to do that from Caribbean Terrace straight back to Plumb Point. Then they are going to dredge sand, about 600 metres offshore, and use that to reconstruct the dunes," Ranston explained.

Ranston said there were several different techniques that could be used to reconstruct dunes. There is nature but that, she said, takes time.

She said the aim was for the dunes to be about five or six metres high. This is expected to protect the area from a Category Five hurricane.

The centre is also giving advice on the best plants to be used and their spacing. The role of the vegetation is to stabilise the sand of the dune area.

"We are going to need approximately one million plants to revegetate the area," she disclosed.

Asked if this project would protect the Palisadoes road, Ranston said this was the first time the area was being worked on, so the test would come when a hurricane hits the island.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com