Mayor takes issue with opening of Harbour View to Yallahs leg of South Coast highway

By Kimone Witter    

 

The Harbour View to Yallahs segment of the South Coast highway is being officially opened by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

 

The opening ceremony, which still underway, is under a cloud following a call by Mayor of Morant Bay Hubert Williams for it to be postponed.

 

Mr. Williams contends that the road has not been satisfactorily completed and is unsafe for motorists.

 

The mayor says his main concern is the failure to complete a critical drain leading to the community of Grants Pen in St. Thomas.

 

Residents have complained of excessive water runoff through the community.

 

The issue is further exacerbated as a culvert that takes the excess water is blocked by debris.

 

Mr. Williams says his absence from Tuesday morning's opening of the Harbour View to Yallahs bridge segment of the South Coast highway is due to residents of Grants Pen indicating that they would be disappointed if he had done otherwise. 

 

"There's supposed to be a major drain that's supposed to be put in place to protect lives and property in Grants Pen and it's not yet in place; it's not yet started. Up to yesterday the community of Grants Pen, the residents here, have a meeting discussing the drain because they know how dangerous it can be if we have any major rainfall and this drain is not put in place," he noted while speaking Tuesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.

 

But addressing the concerns, Communication Manager at the National Works Agency Stephen Shaw said work on the highway is 99 per cent complete.

 

Mr. Shaw said the remaining work will be completed in due course. 

 

"The project, insofar as its deliverables would have accomplished same. It doesn't necessarily mean that having reached that point, every single thing that is to be done would have been done. We have some side roads and we generally target maybe 10 or 15 metres of side roads to kind of lock them into the major corridor. That again, does not necessarily impact the major corridor, which is what we're focusing on, which is from Harbour View to the Yallahs bridge," he insisted.    

 

Mr. Shaw was also a guest Tuesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106.

 

In the meantime, the People's National Party has commended Mayor of Morant Bay Hubert Williams for his decision not to attend Tuesday's opening of the Harbour View to Yallahs bridge segment of the South Coast Highway. 

 

The PNP has also commended Mr. Williams and the Morant Bay Municipal Corporation for piloting and passing the resolution to name the highway after National Hero Paul Bogle.

 

Meanwhile, the party said it is witnessing a downscaled South Coast Highway Improvement Project in St. Thomas compared with the vision approved and budgeted by the Portia Simpson Miller Cabinet in 2015.

 

The PNP is calling for the government to refocus its efforts on completing the project to the highest standards, ensuring the long-suffering people of St. Thomas can benefit from a safe and fully functional highway.