The struggles of motorists and pedestrians using the pothole-riddled roadway between Montego Bay in St James and Negril, Westmoreland, is steadily being eased, thanks to ongoing road-patching taking place under the Relief Emergency Assistance and Community Help (REACH) programme.
According to Janel Ricketts, community relations officer at the National Works Agency’s western office, the repairs to the widely used thoroughfare are being done through a government allocation to fix roads damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl, which impacted the island on July 3, 2024.
Ricketts told The Gleaner on Monday that considerable patchwork has been under way on the main corridor connecting the two tourist destinations since late December. The roadway has been a source of conflict, with commuters complaining bitterly about the poor road conditions.
According to Ricketts, the Government has allocated $500 million to improve the roads that were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl across the four western parishes – Trelawny, St James, Hanover, and Westmoreland.
The REACH programme was established last year as a $3 billion patching project to assist roads affected by the category-four hurricane.
Ricketts, who was providing an update on the work being done between Montego Bay and Negril, said patchwork is now being done on a section of the road at Mosquito Cove, in Hanover. However, she was unable to say how far advanced the project was.
“It’s a bit hard to say because, since December, we have been doing a lot of work and we have further work to do for example in Mosquito Cove where we are currently doing prep work. We have done quite a bit of patching,” she said.
Following the hurricane, passengers encountered massive craters along the major road, which is widely used by commuters travelling between tourism towns. Ricketts told The Gleaner that the complaints are gradually changing into compliments as motorists can now travel with comfort.
“A lot of persons were complaining in early November about the state of the road. It is much improved and we have done quite a bit of work from Hopewell leading into Lucea and continuing further on into Negril. Even as early as late December, residents expressed a marked improvement in the road conditions. Yes, they agree that there is more work to be done and we are continuing that effort. We have gotten good reviews on the work so far because quite a bit of work has already been done,” said Ricketts.
“The project targets the main corridors and we’ve seen improvement on both ends whether you’re taking the route from Montego Bay through Hopewell on to Lucea and then into Negril. We have also continued on the other side leading to Ramble and Negril,” she added.
Despite her not saying how advanced the project was, she said the original projection was for it to be completed in a month.
“It’s now substantially completed and we anticipate that probably within a month or so that section will be finished, weather permits, because we’ve done quite a bit. It’s just some other sections that we now are targeting,” she stated.
When questioned if the REACH programme will be tied to the Government’s other road restoration plan, the SPARK programme, Ricketts highlighted the distinctions.
“REACH is different, in that REACH is a patching programme… that is geared at upgrading those roads that were heavily damaged following the passage of Hurricane Beryl. They are two different projects, so you’ll find that SPARK is undertaking other projects,” she revealed.
In the meantime, Ricketts said work is also being carried out on additional roadways across the western region under the REACH programme.
“Several roadways have received attention including sections of the Bartlett’s River to Negril roadway in Westmoreland; the Montego Bay to Great River roadway in St James; the Shettlewood main road in Hanover. Work now continues in earnest along several other corridors including the Duncans to Long Pond roadway in Trelawny, and the Grange Hill to Glasgow roadway in Westmoreland, as well as roads in Falmouth township,” said Ricketts.
Additional roads in Trelawny will also be repaired as part of the REACH programme. These include sections of the Bounty Hall corridor, the road from Rock to Stewart Town, and the main road connecting Jackson Town and Ulster Spring.