THE National Works Agency (NWA) has announced that work on Oakland Crescent and Oakland Road in St Andrew will resume today, after residents on Monday decried the state of the roads and questioned the suspension of the repairs which started under the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme in February.

In a media release on Wednesday, manager of communication and customer services at the NWA Stephen Shaw said the work was halted because of technical issues which have now been resolved.

Shaw said the contractors, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), had encountered challenges obtaining the necessary fittings for pipe installation works, which significantly impacted the initial schedule.

Despite this, Shaw said that a decision was made to have the sidewalks, v-drains, kerbs and channel done, while efforts were made to resolve the issue with the pipe fittings.

According to Shaw, the situation has now been resolved and the contractors should swiftly begin their work to provide the people of the Oakland community with some relief from poor road conditions and frequent flooding.

Shaw explained that the works being carried out under the $45-billion Government SPARK initiative will facilitate the installation of new waterlines, a new base and an asphaltic concrete surface, as well as improved drainage features.

For this project Shaw noted that $52 million was dedicated to the repair of Oakland Road, while $40 million will be used to the improve road on Oakland Crescent.

He added that the work being done would occur simultaneously under the supervision of NO Whyte and Associates Limited.

Shaw’s update came after members of the Oakland Crescent community issued an urgent plea to the NWA for the immediate restoration of the road in the area earlier this week.

At the time, disgruntled residents told the Jamaica Observer that in addition to the deplorable condition of the road, an overflowing drain in the community had contributed to the main road’s transformation into an uncharted river when it rained.

They explained that the road has been an issue for years, with one resident, recalling the roads being in terrible conditions as far back as September 2004, when Hurricane Ivan’s Category 4 winds struck Jamaica.

Residents further explained that after living with the roads falling into disrepair over the years, they gained some hope when work began on the sidewalks in February 2026, but noted that progress was paused for unknown and unexplained reasons.

Member of Parliament for the area, the People’s National Party’s Dr Angela Brown Burke, in an interview with the Observer on Monday also noted that she wrote to the NWA on several occasions seeking answers as to why the process had stalled, but received no response.

She called for a swift resumption of work on the roads in the community, stating that ameliorating the conditions in which people were expected to live should be a top priority.