MAY PEN, Clarendon — Member of Parliament for Clarendon South Western Lothan Cousins is calling on the Government to intervene in what he claims is a lack of commitment by the contractor of the US$188-million May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000 to reinstate local roads damaged during the construction of the highway.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer following a tour of sections of the highway in his constituency last week, Cousins raised concerns about inadequate drainage and the lack of an agreement in the construction contract to reinstate local roads.

“On the tour we noted a lot of areas where water is ponding mostly on the northern side of the highway and there is not sufficient access for the water to travel to the southern side, because the water usually flows from north to south,” he said.

“Based on what we observed we are very concerned that the arrangements that have been put in place in respect of drainage are inadequate. We still have not received any firm commitment from National Road Operating & Constructing Company (NROCC), China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and the Government of Jamaica in respect of the roads that were damaged,” he added.

NROCC is responsible for overseeing the design, construction and maintenance of Jamaica’s highways. However, NROCC’s Managing Director Stephen Edwards said the company has evidence that only one road was damaged by the highway’s construction.

“The road that was damaged by the contractor is Content Road. The contractor has conceded that a part of it was damaged and they are going to reinstate that,” he said.

“The local roads that are in the vicinity of the highway, there is no agreement in the contract to reinstate those roads,” he added.

He said CHEC is responsible for repairing roads damaged during the highway’s construction.

“If the contractor utilises those roads in the execution or implementation of the highway and those roads become damaged or fall into disrepair as a result, the contractor is responsible for reinstating those roads,” said Edwards.

“We have documented evidence from before construction started of the condition of all those roads,” he added.

The highway construction project crosses National Works Agency (NWA) gazette roads and one parochial road namely Foga Road, Denbigh Drive, Comfort Road, Decoy Road, St Jago Road, and Duke Street in Clarendon South Western.

Edwards said that haulage trucks not related to the project use the local roads.

“Some of these roads were not used in the construction of the highway. Some of the roads are actually used by haulage trucks that are related to quarries in the area,” he said.

Cousins is lobbying for the Government to intervene, while adding that there is need for greater flooding mitigation.

“It is a matter now for the Government to decide how they are going to proceed with that… I am very uncomfortable with the pace of the drainage being implemented, especially in light of the fact that we are fast approaching a hurricane season,” said the Opposition MP.

“If we do not mitigate now I am very concerned about what may happen in another week or two or months from now and we want to prevent any loss of life,” he added.

He said areas such as Woodleigh, a community located south of May Pen, have become more prone to flooding since the highway’s construction.

However, Edwards has rejected that claim.

“Any flooding in that area would be far removed from the highway, it wouldn’t be as a result of the highway,” he added.