ROBERT Pickersgill, the housing, water, transport and works minister, says ‘work has started in earnest’ on the Palisadoes road which suffered severe erosion during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, contrary to a report carried by the Sunday Observer which suggested otherwise.

“I have taken note of an editorial in one of our daily newspapers, but anyone travelling on that road will notice that the boulders are being dropped off. So work has started in earnest,” said the minister, in opening the 2007/08 sectoral debate at Gordon House in Kingston on Wednesday.

Pickersgill said Cabinet had approved a contract valued at $40 million for the rock rivetment work to be done under phase one of the Palisadoes Protection and Rehabilitation Project.

“This is an immediate step to address the problem of a road which is now substantially at or below sea level,” the minister told the House.

He said the intention was to implement the findings of a coastal protection study which was done through assistance from the Cuban Government, key stakeholders such as the UWI, NEPA and the Ministry of Local Government and the Environment.

The strip which is the only access road to Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport and the historic Port Royal has been a source of concern as the roadway is at times impassable due to high waves from the sea.

During the passage of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 storm surges triggered by the hurricane dumped huge mounds of sand – some as high as six feet – onto the Palisadoes road, effectively cutting Kingston off from air link for two days.

Last week communications and customer service manager at the NWA Stephen Shaw told the Observer that ‘work has not yet started’ on the roadway.

Minister of Local Government and Environment Dean Peart also told the Observer at the time that a contract for the construction had not yet been given out.

“Everything else has been done. The study, the design, that has been done; but we haven’t gone to contract yet. We are trying to finalise before we can quantify everything to go to tender for construction,” Peart had said, adding that the plan was to dredge a section of the area and create an island to widen the strip.

Speaking to the House on Wednesday, Pickersgill said the ministry was “aware of the need to focus on disaster mitigation in an effort to ensure reduced impact of flooding from natural disasters”.

The NWA, he reported, had spent just under $1 billion constructing retaining walls, cleaning drains, undertaking river training and addressing drainage problems at some critical intersections.