Jamaica News: Community Relations Officer at the National Works Agency (NWA) Western Office, Janel Ricketts, says the rehabilitation of the Somerton to Virgin Valley roadway in St. James is now complete.
The 800-metre stretch of roadway was repaired at a cost of $21.8 million. Work commenced on the project on April 15 of last year.
“As part of the project, we completed the construction of several drains, including catch basins, retaining walls, and we repaired the surface of the worst sections of the roadway,” Ms. Ricketts said in an interview with JIS News.
The scope of work also included the construction of base formations, asphalt concrete overlays, curbs and sidewalks as well as bushing.
Ms. Ricketts said residents have welcomed the refurbished roadway, noting that it has made their commute easier.
The Somerton to Virgin Valley roadway not only serves the communities along the path, but also links a number of neighbouring communities, such as Guilsbro, Lottery, Mt. Industry, Canaan, Dumfries and Sign in the parish.
The project was one of several undertaken under the maintenance of secondary roads programme, which aims to repair roadways across several communities islandwide, some of which have not received attention for some time.
Other routes that were repaired in the parish include Farm Heights, Portobello and Barnett View Drive.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ricketts said the agency is completing its patching and drainage programme, which commenced in the latter part of 2019.
“We anticipate that throughout 2020 we will have several other projects which seek to improve the roads and drainage systems across the [western] region,” she noted.
The drain-cleaning programme is targeted at critical drains and destroying mosquito breeding sites.
