PORTLAND, Jamaica — The National Works Agency (NWA) says work will commence shortly for a $100 million rehabilitation project on the main road from Zion Hill to Breastworks in Portland.

According to the NWA, the road is to be rehabilitated against the background of the billion-dollar effort now underway to modernise the stretch from Port Antonio to Boston.

The corridor to be rehabilitated runs from Zion Hill through Sherwood Forest, Nonsuch and Breastworks. The efforts are to facilitate traffic as a bypass for the works now taking place under the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) from Port Antonio to Boston.

On Monday, taxi operators in Portland protested the poor road conditions caused by the highway project.

READ: WATCH: Portland cabbies protest poor road conditions due to highway construction

In a statement from the NWA Tuesday, Communications Manager Stephen Shaw said the agency recognised the challenges being experienced by some commuters along the Port Antonio to Fairy Hill section of the corridor and was executing this project in an attempt to reduce delays.

The NWA said the 17-kilometre stretch of roadway will undergo improvement, including the cutting of overhanging trees, reconstruction in sections, patching, drain cleaning and the construction of a retaining wall.

Shaw said works on the main road will continue for a period of four months.

Motorists using the corridor during this period are advised to obey the instructions of flag people and posted warning signs.