Montague moves to address bad road conditions

Member of Parliament (MP) for St Mary Western, Robert Montague, is seeking to reassure residents in the parish that the breakaway along the Gayle main road will be fixed in short order.

Montague informed The Gleaner that the National Works Agency (NWA) had conducted an assessment and that the corridor would be repaired soon.

This, he said, is due to the tendering process nearing completion with a bidder selected. He noted that paperwork is being finalised.

Residents living and commuting along St Mary’s Gayle main thoroughfare sounded the alarm on Tuesday that a section of the road had sunken and continues to break away.

In 2020, the roadway was littered with potholes leading to its continuous breakdown.

Montague admitted that there are indeed a number of roads in his constituency that are in desperate need of attention. The MP said that he was working with the NWA to schedule repairs to these roads.

There has been no indication of when works will take place.

Montague linked the deteriorating road conditions of the White Hall bridge, which connects St Mary and St Ann, to flooding in January, which rendered roads in St Ann, St Mary, and Portland inaccessible.

Rivers in St Mary swelled and flooded across roads in Dressike and Jacks River. Port Maria, the parish’s capital, was also seriously impacted.

“The recent rains are [of no] help either. They have made the situation worse,” he said.

Montague has not confirmed whether he would engage MP for St Ann South East, Lisa Hanna, to repair the White Hall bridge.

Hanna said that she would be ready for discourse on the matter at any time and has requested an estimate from NWA which is yet to be completed.