Protest ends; work resumes on Albert Town road
WESTERN BUREAU — Work resumed on the Troy to Albert Town main road in Trelawny yesterday following two days of protests by residents in the communities of Warsop and Troy. They were protesting against a dust nuisance in the area.
Community relations officer at the National Works Agency, Stephen Shaw, told the Observer yesterday that the contractors were back on the job.
“The contractors are wetting the roads and they are transporting materials to the area,” Shaw said.
On Monday and Tuesday the placard-bearing residents used large boulders and tree trunks to mount their blockade.
The residents complained that since last month they have been affected by the dust that emanates from the roadway.
“The contractors dig up the road and stop wetting it from last month,” Jamaica Labour Party councillor/caretaker for the Troy division, Colin Gager, told the Observer.
He said the dust has caused a number of residents to become ill and has done thousands of dollars of damage to property.
The dust nuisance also contributed to a number of accidents on the road, some of the residents charged.
On Tuesday Member of Parliament for the area, Doreen Chen, said that she would be lobbying the NWA for the termination of the contract.
“The contractor’s contract stipulated that he should wet the road on a daily basis but he has not been doing this,” Chen asserted.
Yesterday the JLP caretaker for South Trelawny, Devon McDaniel, said that he met with the contractors on Tuesday and they assured him that there would be a full resumption of work.
Work on the Troy to Albert Town main road which is being carried out by the National Works Agency under the National Road Improvement Programme began earlier this year and is expected to be completed by the end of June.
The work involves the rehabilitation of approximately 15.5 kilometres of roadway at a cost of $61 million.