Marcus Garvey Drive closed amid flood concerns
THE National Works Agency (NWA) yesterday closed Marcus Garvey Dive, Kingston, in an effort to mitigate the likelihood of flooding during the passage of Hurricane Matthew.
Last month, several businesses along the busy thoroughfare were badly affected by flood waters following heavy rains. The problem was blamed on clogged drains and a massive road project currently under way in the area.
Yesterday, Stephen Shaw, communications manager at NWA, told the Jamaica Observer that motorists should use alternative routes in Industrial Terrace and Spanish Town Road.
He said the road will remain closed until after the slow-moving hurricane — the outer bands of which has been dumping several inches of rain on sections of the island since Sunday — is well clear of Jamaica.
“It will be reopened as soon as the hurricane has passed and we are advised if there’s any threat from rains associated with that system,” Shaw told the Observer.
Meanwhile, Calvin Allen, assistant commissioner in charge of the National Emergency Operation Plan, advised that east-bound traffic coming from Portmore or the Portia Simpson Miller Square area will turn on East Avenue, continue onto Spanish Town Road, and then to their destination in Kingston.
Additionally, Allen said traffic flowing west-bound out of Kingston will have to travel along Darling Street onto Spanish Town Road and carry on from there.
He added that employees of some companies on Marcus Garvey Drive will be allowed to have access.
“The West Kingston Power Partners, the Nutrition Products Limited, Seprod, and others in that area will be facilitated in terms of utilising the area to get to their businesses,” he said.
“The senior NWA person and the police looked at the situation and realised that, based on what is to come later, it is best to take no chances and to deal with it accordingly,” he said in reference to the expected rains.
— Kimberley Hibbert