Western Bureau: Some 900 residents in the Montego Bay area are to benefit directly from the construction of a $11.4-million retaining wall along that city’s North Gully.

There is presently no retaining wall for approximately 103 metres along the gully, which was left unfinished by the original builders in 1963. The result has been that over the last couple of decades, homes constructed along the gully bank have been flooded whenever there are heavy rains. Properties have also been damaged and the health of residents threatened by the overflow of raw sewage deposited along the gully bank.

It was against this background that work on the 340-foot retaining wall got under way earlier this week. The project, which is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and implemented through the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), is scheduled to be completed within the next six months. The Ministry of Health has also pledged funding for the project’s sanitation component, which will see the provision of four Ventilated Improved Double Pit latrines (VIDP).

And the authorities have warned that once construction work is completed, efforts will be directed at ensuring that the improvements are maintained. According to a release from the JSIF’s communications officer, Donna-Marie Wallace, the maintenance programme will see 35 persons trained in capacity building to help community members to maintain the project. A hygiene workshop is also slated to get under way shortly, and will see the participation of persons from the North Gully Citizens Association, the Pertain Leaders Club, general community members and representatives of the St James parish council.