Construction is well under way on roads that were earmarked for repairs and upgrades in three eastern communities under The Scotland District Road Rehabilitation Project. They are Kings Street and White Hill in St. Andrew, and Vaughn’s Road No. 2 in St. Joseph.
Deputy Chief Technical Officer responsible for Operations in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Water Resources (MTWW), Philip Tudor, noted these roads were prioritised due to severe land slippage, which compromised access to properties and road safety.
Mr. Tudor indicated that significant progress had been made at Vaughn’s Road No. 2 since work began in March this year. He said the milling of existing asphalt, the excavation of the road shoulder and base, and the construction of slipper and curb to channel runoff water were ongoing. Work on the 660-metre road is being done by the China National Complete Plant Import and Export Corporation Limited (COMPLANT) and its contractor, C.O. Williams Construction.
Engineering Consultant, Errol Clarke of Errol Clarke Associates Ltd, has been assigned by MTWW to oversee the project at Kings Street, where a portion of the road had collapsed.
Mr. Clarke indicated the entire road would be rehabilitated or reconstructed depending on the damage at specific locations. “There are certain areas that are in pretty good condition; there will be very light work taking place there. There are other areas where failures or additional land slippage are occurring. At those locations, the gabions that are currently there would be replaced because the old ones are failing. So, for the entire road, gabion work and repaving will take place,” he said.
Mr. Clarke added that drainage along the stretch would also be improved. Stating that the road slopes toward the major collapsed point, he said curb and slipper will be placed on both sides of the street to channel storm water to that point.
“Double catch pits, connected by a pipe, will be placed on either side of the road to help channel the storm water onto a concrete spillway. From the spillway, the water would continue along a pipe which would deposit the water some distance down the bushy valley. This is being done to ensure that the water is not disposed at the side of the road, “that way we will not be weakening the soils in the area,” he said.
Currently, COMPLANT is executing the work at Kings Street with the use of former MTWW National Clean-Up workers, who were trained and have experience in gabion building. Residents of Kings Street, who got together to rebuild the collapsed road, are also being utilised as labourers on site.
Mr. Clarke also indicated that the local knowledge of residents was taken into account, which contributed to the type of rehabilitation work that was undertaken.
Road construction at White Hill, St. Andrew, has also been progressing well, as work is being done on both phases of the project. Mr. Clarke, who is also responsible for overseeing this location, said: “White Hill is progressing well. At the moment, we are building box drains, which will take the runoff water. We are also building retaining walls, and we are excavating for the new alignment of the road.”
He pointed out that because the Scotland District community is prone to landslips, a decision was made to divert the new road to a more stable soil base.
“The old road passes over what has now been the landslip. It was on what’s called the Joe’s River soil. “We’ve diverted the road onto the Oceanic, which is much stronger soil, especially when it becomes wet. That excavation is progressing well and we are past the halfway point. We’re hoping to be able to complete excavation before the rains come,” he said.
The Engineering Consultant added that the COMPLANT team was currently working on phases one and two. “The contractor has opted to excavate phase two now, during the dry season so that it will advance the project. It is not recommended that that sort of heavy excavation takes place during the rainy season. If we do not catch this dry window, it means that we would have to wait until next year’s dry season. We’re making fair progress and we are utilising the weather conditions in this dry period, and hopefully, we can meet the target completion date,” Mr. Clarke stated.
Parliamentary Secretary with MTWW and Member of Parliament for St. Andrew, Dr. Romel Springer, disclosed that residents were extremely happy with the roadworks, despite inconveniences such as dust and noise from heavy equipment.
He praised the positive cooperation between the Chinese contractors and local residents, noting the Chinese have been embraced by both communities [White Hill and Kings Street]. Dr. Springer also lauded the employment of several young residents to the project.
Under the $230 million Scotland District Road Rehabilitation Project, 75 roads and eight bridges in the Scotland District will be rehabilitated or reconstructed. The project is funded by the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM).
Shorey Village road in St. Andrew was also recently rehabilitated under this initiative.