Mission accomplished - Cold Spring road, which sparked protest, all but completely repaired

WESTERN BUREAU:

Residents in Cold Spring, Hanover, who staged a massive demonstration last March, demanding that the Cold Spring to Thompson Hill roadway be repaired, must now be feeling a sense of accomplishment as the subsequent repair work, which started shortly after, is now on the verge of completion.

The repair work, which is being done by R Foote Construction Company Limited, started in September 2019 at a cost of $33.9 million. The completion date was initially set for May 2020 but while the deadline was missed, from all indications, the work should be completed this month.

According to Dave Brown, member of parliament (MP) for Eastern Hanover, the scope of work carried out on the 2.4 kilometres of roadway includes the rehabilitation of the entire roadway with an asphaltic concrete overlay finish, and the improvement of drainage through the construction of new drains.

“Culverts were replaced and kerbs and channels were put in. A retaining wall was also constructed, with the National Works Agency as the implementing agency,” said Brown.

When The Gleaner spoke to Brown, he was adamant that, contrary to the residents’ belief, the demonstration that took place was not the reason for the repair works taking place. According to the first-time MP, he had a plan on the table to carry out massive repair works on the roads in the constituency, noting that some of them had not been repaired in the last 20 years.

“That roadway was one of the many bad roads that I inherited on coming into representational politics, and the time for its repair has now come. That’s the only demonstration that has occurred in my constituency since I became member of parliament, and to be honest with you, I am targeting all the roads in the constituency that have not been repaired for over two decades,” Brown said.

“This road is really a very important road which connects several parts of the constituency in more than one way,” added Brown, who said the focus will now be on the Cascade to Georgia roadway, which will be repaired at a cost of $10 million.

When The Gleaner visited the Cold Spring area recently, the residents were quite pleased that the road repair was near completion. They said it will enhance their economic well-being and open doors to new opportunities.