Retaining walls, drains benefit from $30-m repairs in East Rural St Andrew
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The restoration of several retaining walls and repairs to drainage systems are in progress along roadways serving nine communities in East Rural St Andrew, at a cost of $30 million.
This is in preparation for a major road rehabilitation project to be undertaken by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) for the Robertsfield to Davis Hill and Mount Hybla roads, at a cost of US$75,000.
According to Member of Parliament for the area, Juliet Holness, upgrade of the roads will put the farmers in a better position to “get their produce out to buyers” and for motorists to have a smoother surface on which to travel.
“If another road is impassable, it now opens up that opportunity for more people to find their way through,” Holness told JIS News in an interview.
She noted that after the restoration work is complete, “we will move to the JSIF element of the road project,” which will be a paved road to serve hundreds of residents in the various communities.
“When we have a landslide, very often people are not able to get home for two to four days, and we are now in a place where the road infrastructure has improved to the extent that we have alternative roads that we are able to use when we have one of the many landslides,” she said.
