ST ANN — After being closed for about eight months, the Dumbarton main road in St Ann is now opened to vehicular traffic. The road which links Browns Town to Discovery Bay was cut off during heavy rains in December last year.

National Works Agency (NWA) spokesman Stephen Shaw said the corridor was recently opened to vehicular traffic, even though the $21 million dollar project, under which it is being rehabilitated, is yet to be completed. The project is slated to be completed in October.

In December 2016, the Dumbarton main road was severed after a culvert collapsed during heavy rains in the community. Work to reopen the corridor started in April through a contract that formed part of the Major Infrastructure Development Programme (MIDP).

Shaw said the reopening of the road was facilitated by the construction of a new reinforced concrete box culvert. Gabion protective works were also been done within the channel of the nearby gully and sidewalks installed for safer access along the road by pedestrians.

The final works, which include paving of the affected section with asphaltic concrete, is slated to be done shortly.

In the meantime, Shaw said a National Water Commission reinstatement project, which is being undertaken along the same road, is nearing completion. Approximately five kilometres of cuts are being targeted. About 130 metres of the areas disturbed by the NWC in earlier pipe-laying work remains outstanding, however. This is expected to be completed shortly, the NWA spokesman said.

Motorists and pedestrians have been advised to exercise caution for the remainder of the planned works and to obey the instructions of posted warning signs.