More roads in St Catherine South Central slated for rehabilitation

Residents of Cromarty Grove in St Catherine South Central have had their long-standing frustrations over poor road infrastructure eased at a cost of approximately $30 million.

The rehabilitation project comes under the Government’s National Housing Trust (NHT) programme, which aims to upgrade the roadways in old NHT housing schemes.

Member of Parliament Andrew Wheatley, in a recent Gleaner interview, expressed that the residents had been in distress for far too long.

“They have been crying over the years for their roads. In fact, the roads have been in a deplorable condition some 30 years now,” he said.

The road surface, which had previously been riddled with large potholes and remained a cause of tension among residents and other road users such as taxi drivers, had been in desperate need of repair since it was last fixed in the 1990s.

He added that the condition of the roads would not have withstood a 10-year period and expressed pleasure at finally being able to address the issue.

Residents of Bellevue Heights can breathe a sigh of relief, as the roads in their community were also upgraded at a cost of $30 million.

Wheatley stated that further work is scheduled to be completed within the constituency and that Valdez Road, which connects the constituency’s two main roadways – Old Harbour Road and St John’s Road – is currently under repair.

He said that the first phase of the works was completed last week and that the project will cost $31 million.

Wheatley said he is now awaiting funding for Featherbed Lane and Clayton Heights after the National Works Agency submits an estimate. His assessment is that it may cost roughly $30 million to rehabilitate.