Trelawny gets $236m road upgrade

WESTERN BUREAU:

Motorists in several communities in southern Trelawny should be breathing a collective sigh of relief as thanks to a whopping $236-million road improvement programme, which is nearing completion, they now have better roads to drive on.

According to Janel Ricketts, the community relations officer for the National Works Agency (NWA), the project should be completed by the end of October.

"The project covers a distance of 12 kilometres between Wire Fence and Highgate Hall. It is substantially completed with a few areas yet to be finished. We expect that this will all come together by the end of October," said Ricketts.

The scope of work includes base excavation and the removal of soft spots along sections of the roadway.

"It also included the construction of retaining and parapet walls. What is needed now, among other things, are road markings and signage," said Ricketts.

Businessman Hugh Dixon, who is bringing substantial investments into the area through projects such as the Cockpit Country Adventure Tours, which is operated through the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency, is quite pleased with what he has seen so far with the road improvement project.

PROFESSIONAL WAY

"It has been a long time that I have not seen road work done in such a professional way," said Dixon, who is also a noted yam farmer and environmentalist. "I drove along the corridor while it was raining and the water was running in the drains and not across the road, as is usual."

Cassandra Campbell, a resident of Albert Town, is also quite pleased with the road repair because, according to her, it will significantly cut down on travel time from Trelawny to the neighbouring parish of Manchester, where many south Trelawny residents do their commercial business.

"It is already cutting down on the travelling time between Albert Town and Christiana. We don't have to be skipping potholes, which was the case for a long time," said Campbell. "It is much better than what we had before."