A section of the Redberry road near Porus in Manchester (Photos: Kasey Williams)
NWA moves to calm Redberry residents angry over roadwork delay
PORUS, Manchester — The National Works Agency (NWA) has promised residents of Redberry that work to repair the road in the community will be completed within six months.
NWA Communications Manager Stephen Shaw told residents and political representatives on Tuesday that the project is in its preliminary phase with S&G Road Surfacing Materials Limited being contracted.
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“The work is happening. I will explain to you [that] there are different stages of implementing a road project. One of the first things that we have to do is to ensure that the measurements are taken, so when you observe some pegs and some numbers marked on those, it is for ease of reference,” said Shaw during a roadside meeting in the community.
“The project signed between the Government of Jamaica and S&G will see some $92 million being spent on this road. A good percentage of it — more than $20 million — is to be used to target the drainage infrastructure in this space. I am well aware that you have had drainage issues here,” added Shaw.
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However, the road rehabilitation has been constantly delayed with blame being pointed to the National Water Commission for not completing pipe-laying work.
“One of the things we have learnt based on our history, we have had situations where NWA…go in and we fix roads and no sooner than the project is completed the water commission would come in and they would excavate to put in the water lines, and the truth is, you can never get back the compaction that you want,” Shaw told the meeting.
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He assured the residents that the two agencies are now partnering to complete the project.
“We are in touch with the National Water Commission and we are really hoping that we will be able to work together to ensure that we have a seamless implementation of this project, meaning the water lines will be tested, approved and the civil works relating to the road would thereafter be completed,” said Shaw as he appealed to residents to not block the drains in the community.
But that response sparked the ire of residents who interrupted Shaw. “A road we come bout,” declared one resident.
A seemingly annoyed Shaw responded strongly pushing his point.
“No, you come about the road, but you are going to listen to me, because part of the problem is that persons throw garbage in drains, damage roads, you have to understand that. The little things that we do sometimes as individuals cause bigger problems.
“So when you get your milk tin and you don’t dispose of it properly and it goes into that catch pit and other things go into it and then the road gets damaged and you curse and carry on and say that ‘boy the road mash up’, but then you are not thinking about how you might have contributed to that very situation, so you need to understand,” Shaw pointed out.
He also pointed to the health risks that can develop from blocked drains.
“You block the drain, water becomes stagnant, mosquitoes breed and then you get dengue or ChikV [Chikungunya]. We have to take personal responsibility,” he said.
People’s National Party aspirant for Manchester Southern Peter Bunting, who was among the political representatives at the meeting, told Shaw to be understanding of the resident’s frustration.
“They have been under some serious hardship for years… The frustration is that in September 2023 there was a demonstration by the residents. They were promised that money was allocated. NWC would have to fix the road first. Last September there was another demonstration. Meeting was held shortly after. They were told money was allocated, but it would have to wait until the NWC has done their job,” said Bunting as he chided the NWC whose representatives were absent from the meeting on Tuesday.
“What has happened…in terms of the sporadic installation by NWC is a case study in how not to do a project, because more damage has been done, because of the slow pace that they have been proceeding at,” charged Bunting.
“I stopped at an old lady who said she couldn’t get into her house, because the temporary fill material wash out and block up her gate cause the water to come over into her yard, so that on top of the dust, the amount of front end mash up on this road has led to high level of frustration by the people,” added Bunting.
