WESTERN BUREAU – The $10 million rehabilitation of the Gutters to Retirement main road in St James is expected to finally get under way next week, some three weeks after it was initially scheduled to begin.

The new start-up date follows Thursday’s visit to the areas, by a team of persons from the parish council, the Ministry of Local Government and the contracting firm, Chicon Enterprises Limited.

Michael Troupe, the People’s National Party (PNP) councillor for the area, has in the interim said the delay was due to the recent heavy rains in the area.

“Because of the heavy rains the contractor was unable to get marl to commence the work,” he told the Observer.

But it was September 8 that more than 300 residents blocked sections of that stretch of roadway to protest the poor road conditions, lack of water and electricity and an upsurge in criminal activities in the area.

The irate residents used trees, old motor vehicles and other debris to mount the blockades.

“We need good roads, light, water and a decrease in crimes,” one resident, George Brown, said then.

But the residents’ protest has not gone down well with Troupe who said their actions were uncalled for since they were aware that the work would have begun shortly.

“I don’t know why they (the residents) demonstrated because they were told by the MP (the Opposition’s Clive Mullings) and myself that the work on the road, which should have started on August 27, would soon begin,” he said.

Meanwhile the councillor said the work would be carried out under the Parish and Infrastructure Development Programme (PIDP) and that it would involve the resurfacing of one kilometre of roadway and the construction of box culverts, and drains.

At the time he said that he had been in ongoing dialogue with the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) to address the lack of electricity supply in the area. And he said that potable water would be made available to the community in the near future.