HOPEWELL, Hanover – Within the next two months motorists are expected to start seeing an improvement in road conditions across the Hanover Eastern Constituency.

Central government has given the green light for the Hopewell to Cacoon Castle road to be rehabilitated at a cost of $179 million.

“It [the project] just came back from tender [recently]. So, that’s a mega project. We expect that to start in the month of September going October,” stated Member of Parliament for the constituency Dave Brown.

The scope of work includes the construction of drains, including curbs and channels.

While several roads such as the Cops to Top Cops road, Cascade to Seven Miles, and Success have been rehabilitated in the constituency, several others such as Cold Spring remain in need of repair.

Shortly after the 2020 General Election the Jericho to Claremont road was repaired, but soon after a section eroded. Brown said $4.5 million was spent from his Constituency Development Funds (CDF) to rehabilitate a section of the road a month ago. Another $3 million is needed to complete the repairs.

Meanwhile, more than $1.2 billion is to be spent on three sets of roads in the Hanover Eastern constituency under the Government’s Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme.

The three are among 2,000 community roads across Jamaica that are to be rehabilitated at a cost of $40 billion. The SPARK programme, which will begin within the next financial year, is scheduled to run over three years.

Under the programme, the Chester Castle main road leading to the Westmoreland border is to be rehabilitated at a cost of $197 million, while another $320 million will be spent on the road from Flint River to Cascade.

The Great River to the Lucea East Bridge section of the northern coastal highway will also be rehabilitated under the programme at a cost of $724 million.