Bad roads a major headache in eastern Hanover

Western Bureau:

With the deplorable state of the roads in eastern Hanover causing a nightmare for motorists and paedestrians alike, Derrick Wright, the president of the Hopewell Citizens Association, says he is very concerned about the situation and wants the authorities to do something about it.

According to Wright, several members of the association have complained to him about the state of the road and the damage being done to their vehicles due to the large number of potholes littering the many roadways across the various communities.

“There are far too many potholes, and they are so dangerous if you try to skip them on the right you might end up in an accident, while if you try to skip them to the left you are on the soft shoulder or sidewalk which is equally dangerous,” said Wright.

Wright said he has had discussions with the member of parliament, Dave Brown, and he is convinced that the MP is doing all he possibly can to remedy the situation.

Brown told The Gleaner he had explained that he has done exhaustive and continuous representation to get the roads of the constituency repaired and rehabilitated where necessary, but he can do so much and no more.

“There used to be a time when we could use what was known as a ‘force account’ and do repair and patching work through the National Works Agency (NWA) in the constituency, but I do not know what the problem is, but that process has been discontinued,” said Brown.

“There are a lot of changes that are happening within the NWA, which amounts to government protecting its resources, which has resulted in a lot of changes in recent times,” said Brown, noting that he has been having problems contacting even the local NWA offices and officers at times.

Brown further explained that there is a long-term programme in place, valued approximately $724 million, to rehabilitate the entire roadway stretch from Great River in the eastern end of the constituency, to the parish capital, Lucea, which will be in the 2024-2025 budget.

“The Shettlewood Road from the Shettlewood crossing all the way back to the border of Hanover and Westmoreland, $197 million will be spent to rehab that stretch, and $380 million will be spent to rehab the stretch from Flint River, Cascade and on to Jericho, so J$1.2 billion to rehabilitate those three roads,” said Brown.

Brown named the Hopewell to Cacoon Castle roadway (phase two) as one to undergo repairs in the short term, at a cost of $79 million, noting that that roadway went to tender recently, and a contract has been awarded for its repair.

“We expect that work to start in the month of October,” adding that other patching work will be taking place in areas such as Copse, Cascade, and Flint River up to Cold Spring.

“I am not in agreement in how some things are being done now, but we all have to work with the processes in place, so I ask the patience of the constituents,” said Brown.