Five roads remain impassable after Hurricane Mellisa; sea defence costing at preliminary stage

The National Works Agency says approximately five roadways remain impassable, close to two months after the passage of hurricane Melissa which left widespread devastation across sections of the island.

Stephen Shaw Communication & Customer Service Manager at the NWA, revealed on Sunday that retaining structures will have to be placed on a number of these roadways for them to be reconnected.

Mr Shaw, speaking on Radio Jamaica’s That’s a Rap, said the NWA will continue work on these roadways in order to have them reopened to the public.

The most badly affected roads are those where the embankments have collapsed, requiring the construction of “retaining structures,” he said, describing the current situation as “a work in progress.”

Seawalls

Mr Shaw also disclosed that the NWA has been looking at costings for restoration of seawalls across the island, which have been damaged by hurricane Melissa.

Preliminary estimates have been prepared by the works agency, he disclosed, but added that “when we start to drill down into some of these areas we really get to see the magnitude of some the issues.”

“Very often, in the case of sea defence works, we have to get more senior engineers to look at it and then put forward the best fit for the situation (and) typically, you see increased costs,” he added.