THE Ministry of Transport and Works will, within a fortnight, undertake an islandwide programme of road patching to cost more than $145 million. Work on the project is expected to begin on July 15, and is scheduled for completion in 20 weeks.

Transport and works minister, Robert Pickersgill, yesterday signed 20 contracts to patch roads in the Kingston metropolitan region and township areas of central, western and north-eastern parishes.

“I will sign these contracts today and I expect the contractors to begin working by Monday, July 15,” Pickersgill told contractors at a signing ceremony in Kingston.

The Kingston metropolitan region will see the patching of 1,116 kilometres of roadway valued at $97.8 million while the other 10 contracts valued at $43.3 million will patch roads in the rural township areas.

“We remain rooted in our faith that the road to development is the development of our roads, it is not wealth that create roads but roads that create wealth,” Pickersgill said.

Three mayors whose towns will benefit from the contracts witnessed the signing yesterday. They were Montego Bay’s Hugh Solomon, whose road patching contract is valued at $5.7 million, Owen Atkinson of Morant Bay, St Thomas $4.2 million and Ralph Anglin of Savana-la-Mar, Westmoreland, in whose town $2.9 million will be spent.

The mayors expressed gratitude for the opportunity to make their town roads more accessible and safe for pedestrians and motorists.

However, Solomon, although hailing the programme, told the Observer he was only satisfied to a point. He did not elaborate.

At the same time Anglin said he needed $70 million for road repairs in Savanna-la-Mar, while Atkinson was dissatisfied with the amount. “It is not adequate, I need at least $2 million more for repairs in Morant Bay,” he said.

Chief executive officer for the National Works Agency, Ivan Anderson, told the contractors to complete the job in accordance with specifications and within the time period allowed. “We intend to hold contractors accountable to make sure the work is done in a timely fashion as we do not intend to have the programme derailed. Where a contractor is not performing we are going to be very prompt in terminating the contract,” warned Anderson.

In addition to the road patching programme, Pickersgill also signed four contracts valued at $51.6 million to construct retaining walls along river beds in Portland and St Mary.

These include construction of retaining walls at the Haughton River Bridge in St Mary; protective work at Spanish River Bridge and retaining walls at Chovey and Peters in Portland; rehabilitation work at Woodford, Norwood and Knapdale to Sturge Town, St Ann and retaining walls at Nolan Hill, Golden Spring to Mount Airy and Harewood to John Crow Spring Roads in St Andrew.