$180M North Gully repair for completion next month
WESTERN BUREAU — The $180 million repair programme for Montego Bay’s North Gully is expected to be completed by the end of next month, Transport and Works junior minister, Fenton Ferguson has said.
Ferguson made the disclosure following Thursday’s tour of sections of the gully and other projects in St James. He was accompanied on the tour by representatives of his ministry and the National Works Agency (NWA), along with Member of Parliament for North West St James, Dr Horace Chang.
The junior minister told the Observer that he was very impressed with the level of work being done on the gully.
“The quality of the work seems to be very good and they have done far more in terms of the scope of work than had been originally planned, (while managing) to keep within budget,” Ferguson noted.
He added that when the project is completed it would be a major achievement for the North West St James constituency since residents there have been faced with severe flooding for the past several years.
Dr Chang also expressed satisfaction with the pace of the work and branded it “one of the best projects” the parish has had in a long time.
“I am very satisfied with what is happening at the North Gully. It’s one of the best projects we have had for a long time. It’s well-managed and well-run,” the MP said, adding that the contractors, M&M Construction, had worked very hard and that there were no reports of extortion.
The work on the gully is to correct damage done by heavy rains in January of 2001, which saw several large slabs of concrete being wrenched from the gully’s foundation, the collapse of protective walls and the disruption of channels.
Meanwhile, Stephen Shaw, the NWA’s community relations officer for the western region told the Observer that the project was 90 per cent complete.
“At present, we are about 90 per cent complete. We have completed the inverts, the wing walls and have already finished one of the three box culverts,” he said.
Shaw added that work was also progressing in the Green Pond and Rosemount areas where the widening of the gully channel and the erection of a bridge was being done.
