PRIME Minister Andrew Holness has launched a new $3-billion road rehabilitation programme to specifically address infrastructure damage caused by recent weather events such as Hurricane Beryl, as well as the execution of routine road maintenance islandwide, Jamaica House announced on Saturday.

Named the REACH Road Rehab Programme, it will be overseen by National Works Agency and will be executed in two phases.

Phase one will run from September to November 2024 while phase two will start in January 2025 and end in March 2025, Jamaica House said.

Speaking at the launch on Saturday, Holness expressed confidence in the programme’s ability to improve road conditions across Jamaica and called on stakeholders to cooperate fully with the teams to ensure its success.

“The REACH Road Rehab Programme is a testament to our commitment to ensuring that the people of Jamaica have safe and reliable road infrastructure. By investing in our roadways we are investing in the future of our country,” the Jamaica House release quotes the prime minister.

It said that under the programme, each constituency will see funds allocated to conduct essential road repairs and maintenance, ensuring that all regions of the country benefit equitably.

Contractors will be mobilised to repair the most critically damaged roads and conduct necessary maintenance to prevent further deterioration, Jamaica House said.

During an update on damage done to Jamaica’s main roads after the passage of Category 4 Hurricane Beryl on July 3, Holness said that preliminary estimates of the damage done to Jamaica’s main road network was put at $10.25 billion.

“There are approximately 25,000 kilometres of roads that connect the country; 5,000 kilometres are main roads while the remaining 20,000 kilometres are parochial roads,” Holness said in a presentation in Parliament.

“While the data and information are still being collected in the field, the preliminary assessment is that over 500 parochial roads have been affected in various degrees. So, in terms of the level of repair that will be needed and the cost, it is significant to our main road networks,” he said.

The new programme is in addition to work being done under the $40-billion Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme to improve the quality of more than 2,000 main roads, secondary roads, and community roads within a two-year span.

Similar to the REACH Road Rehab Programme, the funds allocated for the SPARK programme will be shared equally among constituencies.