OCHO RIOS, St Ann — The police’s hope that road work would be done in Brown’s Town to help alleviate traffic snarls over the holiday season was dashed during Thursday’s meeting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation. Councillor for the Dry Harbour Division Carlton Ricketts (JLP) was adamant that funds allocated for repair were insufficient to cover the amount of work needed on the bypass road being counted on to divert some of the traffic from the town.

“There is no way $7 million can do anything that will show any work so that the road looks as though it can be used. I believe this is a joke; you have to wheel and come again,” he said.

His comments came after senior superintendent of police in charge of St Ann, Dwight Powell, appealed to the local authority for help.

“As we move towards the festive season, we are looking for the municipal corporation to assist us in our traffic management, especially for Brown’s Town,” said SSP Powell. “Brown’s Town, we know, is the go-to place during the festive season — especially on Christmas Eve. So we are asking the council to pave the bypass roads to allow motorists to go through freely.”

Deputy Mayor Dallas Dickenson, who was chairing the meeting, responded that the corporation had held a meeting to identify solutions.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Powell said.

However, Ricketts threw cold water on any suggestion that significant progress was made during the meeting.

“Over a three-year span the bypass has never been worked on and the kind of deterioration on those roads, there is no that money can work. The traffic will backup in Brown’s Town because the people will be driving on the main just the same. No work can be done there that will make any sense,” he said.