GAYLE, St Mary — Residents of Mile Gully, George Town and Jackson in this parish yesterday blocked the Dressikie main road in protest over what they said are very poor road conditions and lack of water in their communities.

The residents used a large tree to block the road, disrupting the flow of traffic for hours, before it was cleared by the National Works Agency (NWA).

Joylan Silvera, member of Parliament for Western St Mary, in which the communities are located, said he has since requested an estimate for work to be done on the road from the NWA parish manager, which he will present to the Ministry of Transport and Works. The estimate is expected to be completed by tomorrow.

But, while promising that he would do all he can to address the problem, Silvera stressed that the roads had not undergone major work since the mid 1980s.

“The condition of these roads never happened within the last 16 months,” he told Jamaica Observer in a telephone interview.

In the meantime, councillor for the area, Jason James, said the affected areas were on a list of roads to be completed under the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme.

Ronald Stewart, a resident of Mile Gully, said pipe-laying works in the community some years ago had contributed to the road problems.

However, Councillor James explained that the laying of pipes only affected a portion of the roadway which runs through the three communities. He said areas where the pipes were not laid were even more deplorable.

With regards to the lack of water in the communities, James said he would contact Rural Water Supply Limited as several things needed to be corrected before the system can be handed over to the National Water Commission, which will supply water to the area.