JSIF begs for patience amid demand for road repairs in Montpelier, St. James

 

The Jamaica Social Investment Fund is appealing to taxi operators who have called for the rehabilitation of the Montpelier main road in St. James to bear with it for another few weeks. 

 

JSIF is the executing agency for the Shettlewood to Anchovy pipeline project that involves excavating the Montpelier road to lay pipes. 

 

Marl has been temporarily used to fill holes in the road, but this has been washed away by persistent rains. 

 

On Monday, frustrated taxi operators staged a protest demanding a timeline for a permanent fix. 

 

Omar Sweeney, Managing Director of JSIF, told Radio Jamaica News that testing of the pipeline is underway, which will take several weeks. 

 

"We are more than 60 per cent complete with the testing of that pipeline and so we know that we will be finished anytime within the next two to three weeks, and we have now actually accelerated the rate of testing of the pipeline. What has happened is that the marl has not been maintained because it has literally been raining every day. As soon as you put the marl, it washes out," he explained. 

 

"We are asking the motorists in particular to just bear a little bit more and I anticipate that in another two to three weeks you will start seeing the permanent reinstatement of the road. So just take a little time on the roads, protect your vehicles and the end results certainly will be to the benefit of everyone. You'll have a beautiful road when we are finished and you will also have the benefit of the water supply," he stressed. 

 

The Shettlewood to Anchovy pipeline project which falls under the government's Integrated Community Development Project II is valued at over $585 million and will provide reliable water supply to almost 11,000 residents of Montpelier, Anchovy and several neighbouring communities.