Dear Editor,

The announcement of the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme, including the proposed Sandy Gully flyover and the rehabilitation of 37 main roads, represents a significant continuation of Jamaica’s road infrastructure development effort.

The Sandy Gully flyover in the Corporate Area is a technically complex project. It involves constructing an elevated roadway over an active drainage channel, which requires careful engineering design. Key considerations include drainage flow, structural stability, safety, and long-term maintenance of both the roadway and the gully system beneath it.

In projects of this nature, risk management plays an important role from planning through to construction and maintenance. This includes identifying and assessing risks such as flooding, soil conditions, utility conflicts, construction delays, cost overruns, and traffic disruption. Early identification of these risks allows appropriate mitigation measures to be built into the design and delivery plan.

Closely linked to risk management is stakeholder management. Large infrastructure projects involve multiple stakeholders, including government agencies, contractors, utility companies, motorists, nearby communities, and businesses. Effective coordination and communication among these groups is important to manage expectations, reduce disruption, and support smoother project delivery.

For example, utility relocation must be carefully coordinated to avoid delays, while communication with road users and nearby communities can help reduce inconvenience during construction. Stakeholder engagement also supports better decision-making by incorporating practical concerns from those directly affected by the works.

The wider SPARK phase two programme, valued at approximately $25 billion, includes 37 main road corridors across several parishes. Given the scale of the programme, effective planning, sequencing, stakeholder coordination, and risk management will be important to support successful delivery across multiple sites and contractors.

The selected corridors, including Washington Boulevard, Dunrobin Avenue, and Sandy Gully, carry high traffic volumes and are central to daily commuting and economic activity. Managing both risks and stakeholder impact in these areas will be particularly important to reduce disruption during construction.

Overall, phase two of the SPARK programme represents a major investment in Jamaica’s road infrastructure. Its success will depend not only on engineering and construction, but also on strong coordination, effective stakeholder engagement, and structured risk management throughout the project life cycle.

Denton Moore

dentonmoore2002@yahoo.com