PM declares road conditions a national emergency, allocates more funds for patching

By Nakinskie Robinson   

 

Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has declared the road conditions a national emergency and has allocated another $2 billion under the REACH road repair programme.

 

He said the declaration signals to executives who have statutory authority how to deal with the issues stemming from the road crisis across the country.

 

Prime Minister Holness said the additional funds earmarked will cover patching and rehabilitation of main thoroughfares. 

 

"This will be done following the law as well, using emergency procurement rules. We expect that the work will begin immediately. There are 21 grade one contractors that the NWA (National Works Agency) will use the various methodologies approved for emergency procurement to engage those grade one contractors, to mobilise them right across Jamaica, to get the patching and reinstatement of roads to driveable conditions done. This is not going to repair every single road," he noted. 

 

The Prime Minister said the declaration is also in response to the further deterioration of the road network following Hurricane Beryl.

 

The allocation under REACH now stands at $5 billion.

 

REACH was developed to address immediate road concerns with temporary fixes such as patching.

 

"So the NWA will supply the Cabinet with the list of main roads, main thoroughfares areas that are severely affected. So it's high volume traffic areas, critical connecting points, economically sensitive roads that we will give the initial focus on," said Prime Minister Holness who admitted that the government recognises the negative effects on productivity due to poor road conditions. 

 

"Every additional 30 seconds you spend navigating a pothole, you multiply that by every car that has to navigate that pothole, which increases the waiting time for every citizen. So we're going to make this strategic, deliberate and direct intervention to ensure that we don't lose any more productivity because of our road conditions," he declared. 

 

Dr. Holness was speaking Thursday morning at the signing ceremony with China Harbour Engineering Company for the $45 billion SPARK road rehabilitation programme.