ROSE HALL, St James — The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company Ltd is tallying how much it will cost to repair 387 street lights that were vandalised on Montego Bay’s Elegant Corridor last weekend.

According to JPS Director of Corporate Communications Winsome Callum, the damage has also impacted the company’s schedule to fully illuminate the heavily used stretch of road, a task that previously rested with the National Works Agency (NWA).

“While we have already started repairs in the interest of public safety, we are still evaluating the full cost of the damage caused by the vandalism and the timeline for completion of repairs,” Callum told the Jamaica Observer Thursday.

“It is a significant setback not only in terms of the financing of the repairs but also in terms of the pace at which we had planned to have all the lights in place. We are working now, however, to repair what has been damaged and then to take a look at how we can move forward, given our commitment that has been given to our partners including the business community and the municipality,” she added.

The elegant corridor, which houses a string of luxury hotels and villas, is also the route used to access Sangster International Airport.

In a press release issued Thursday, JPS said vandals ripped open the lights’ breaker panels, “disconnecting and damaging them, causing the street lights to become non-functional”.

“Up to Friday, August 22, JPS crews inspected the lights and support structures and found them to be in proper working order. However, during a second routine drive-through on Sunday night the corridor was found to be dark,” said the statement.

“The teams subsequently discovered extensive tampering with the circuits responsible for lighting the stretch,” it continued.

A total of 16 panels were damaged, plunging into darkness the route from the airport all the way to Montego Bay Convention Centre.

“They went in and just ripped out the panels. When you go to the scene you actually see padlocks on the ground. [It was] a very intentional, deliberate, destruction of the property,” Callum told the Observer.

The motive for the act of vandalism is unclear and, according to a source at the power company, nothing was stolen. In Thursday’s statement, the JPS pointed to implications for road users.

“The company is now concerned about the safety of motorists and pedestrians along the corridor, and again urges persons to desist from interfering with the street lights or support structures,” the statement read.

“The company is appealing to the public to remain alert and to report any suspicious activity near street light infrastructure to JPS, the police, or through the JPS Customer Care line, at 888CALLJPS or 888-225-5577,” it added.

In 2023, JPS assumed responsibility for 748 lamps and 420 poles along the elegant corridor after an agreement was inked to transfer that function from the NWA to the utility provider. Following rehabilitation work by JPS, the entire stretch was illuminated by November 2024.

However, JPS has, in the past, pointed to damage caused to its infrastructure because of traffic mishaps.