MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND WORKS EMBARKS ON ISLAND WIDE PATCHING PROGRAMME

In the picture from left to right - Mr Ivan Anderson, CEO National Works Agency (NWA), Mr. Prakash Vaswani, Chairman, Road Maintenance Fund, Minister Pickersgill, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, State Minister and Dr. Alwin Hales, Permanent Secretary

Minister of Transport and Works Hon. Robert Pickersgill highlighted in a press briefing on Wednesday, June 28, 2005 at the Ministry’s Conference Room, that the National Works Agency (NWA) and the Ministry of Transport and Works would be embarking on an island wide road-patching Programme.

The Minister told the press, “we have targeted approximately four hundred and eighty- eight thousand square metres (488,000m2) on some 5000 km of roads are to be patched island w
ide over the course of the financial year 2005/2006. Three hundred and sixty thousand square metres (360,000m2) is slated to be done under the spray patching programme while the remaining one hundred and twenty eight thousand square metres (128,000m2) under the hotmix patching programme.”

The NWA has awarded 13 contracts at a cost of JA$ 56 million to undertake hotmix patching of arterial roads in 12 parishes. This will benefit some seventy-three (73) roadways in these parishes.

Mr. Pickersgill also noted, “Under the current contract packages, we had initially targeted some six hundred and fifty-five kilometres (655km) of roadway covering approximately eighteen thousand, nine hundred square metres (18,900m2).”

However, since the Road Maintenance Fund had given approval for the NWA to accelerate the hotmix-patching programme, an additional thirty thousand square metres (30,000m2) of patching was approved. Fifteen thousand square metres (15,000m2) of this area will benefit the corporate area and St. Catherine.

The Minister said, “Patching activities will be focused initially along eighteen (18) roads in Kingston and St. Andrew. These include Hagley Park Road, Molynes Road, Washington Boulevard, Cassia Park Road, Hope Road, Constant Spring Road/South Ave, Lady Musgrave Road, Half Way Tree Road, Oxford Road and Port Royal Street.” He further added, “On completion of these roadways, we will move to the ‘A’ and ‘B’ roads in the other areas. This is a demonstration of your tax dollars coming back to work for you.”

Minister Pickersgill also gave a stern warning to contractors telling them that shoddy work will not be accepted under any circumstance, despite the urgency that is now necessary.

He said, “Improperly patched potholes must not be blamed on the rain. To simply put it, once our auditors indicate that the work is shoddy for one reason or the other, we will not pay.”

The NWA has also identified approximately one hundred thousand square metres (100,000m2) of “C” roads that need to be repaired. So far fifty thousand square metres (50,000m2) has been completed which amounts to 50% of the work done. The remedial work on these “C” roads is being administered under the spray-patching programme.

The NWA, Mr. Pickersgill said, in April acquired 24 containers of emulsion from overseas for the spray-patching programme. The NWA has also designed another phase of the programme to utilize hotmix patching on “B” roads, island wide.

In closing Minister Pickersgill highlighted two major initiatives to be undertaken by the NWA. He mentioned a JA$1 billion road improvement programme that will be administered over a three-year period and is expected to begin in August. “The project will be undertaken in the pilot phase in the parishes of Manchester, St. Thomas, Portland, Westmoreland and St. Catherine,” he added.

“The NWA has also submitted for cabinet approval, a Disaster Mitigation Programme to continue the cleaning of drains and gullies in critical/flood prone areas island wide. Already Cabinet has approved for the first phase of the programme at a cost of JA$25 million.” The minister stressed.

Under the programme the NWA plans to address several drains/gullies in over 50 communities.