Major drainage upgrade for Tinson Pen after flood
Published:Wednesday | October 24, 2018 | 12:00 AM
The Government has announced plans for the construction of "significant" drainage infrastructure capable of managing the magnitude of water that rendered the roadway in the vicinity of Tinson Pen impassable for hours on Tuesday, following heavy rain.
There will also be a realignment of Marcus Garvey Drive for expansion of the port and a new link road between Spanish Town Road and Marcus Garvey Drive.
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie made the announcement during a tour of the area yesterday.
He said that the plan is to construct a major drain of similar capacity to the Sandy Gully drain in order to facilitate the drainage of sections of Marcus Garvey Drive in the vicinity of Tinson Pen and which will act as a conduit for drain water coming through the Logan and Waltham Park Road areas.
McKenzie noted that the Government acknowledged that what took place on Tuesday - when heavy rain caused severe flooding and led to gridlock across the Corporate Area.
He added that the bouts of flooding experienced in several parts of the country has to deal with climate change as much as outdated infrastructure in need of expansion. He said that the plan has been on the table for a long time.
"We have had flooding in Clarendon, St Ann, and Portland - just about all the parishes we have seen some flooding - but we have not had flooding of any real magnitude here on Marcus Garvey Drive since last year," McKenzie said.
"There is a comprehensive upgrading of the drainage system in this section of the Corporate Area, something along similar lines to the Sandy Gully."
The Sandy Gully is a network of major and minor open channels that deposit storm water drained from the urban infrastructure of most of St Andrew and parts of Kingston to the sea at Hunts Bay.
This overall plan is to be undertaken jointly by the National Works Agency (NWA) and the Port Authority of Jamaica.
McKenzie mentioned that work would be undertaken "in short order", noting that the immediate approach would be cleaning the existing drains, reasoning that it was important to mitigate further flooding if there is to be another event of a similar magnitude.
Funding for the project and a timeframe for its commencement would be made at a later date, following a submission to Cabinet, McKenzie said.
INADEQUATE DRAINAGE TO BE BLAMED
Roger Smith, NWA director, technical services, explained that the new construction at Tinson Pen necessitates an expansion of drainage in the area.
Gary Ho Sang, a business owner on Third Street in Newport West, which experienced severe flooding, agrees that the inadequate drainage in the area is to be blamed for the chaos on Tuesday evening.
Chief Operating Officer at Kingston Wharves Mark Williams noted that his staff's ability to depart from and report for work was affected.
"We had to bus some of our staff home way into the night. It was that bad. Traffic was at a standstill for hours. It's time the issue of drainage is addressed in its totality," he said.
Some operational activities such as the delivery of cargo were affected due to the flooded roadways. However, other areas of operation were not significantly affected. Normal work has been resumed at Kingston Wharves.
Others were not as lucky. The high-rising water breached several warehouses in Newport West, damaging goods, parked cars, and causing dislocation for employees.