A critical situation – NWA

IN DESCRIBING the breakaway on the Mount Ogle roadway as critical and declaring the area unstable, acting communications manager at the National Works Agency, Janel Ricketts, has said that all means are being exhausted in keeping with the end-of-September deadline.

Ricketts pointed to the constant rainfall and soil type in the areas as great challenges to the work being carried out.

“It rains there almost every day, and with the area being unstable, when you get a heavy downpour, it saturates the area and results in slippage,” Ricketts told The Gleaner on Monday.

She added: “We’re doubling the efforts, and currently the contractor is running two shifts, night and day, to speed things along.”

While noting the additional costs that pedestrians had to bear, Ricketts charged that safety should be maintained above all.

“Even to construct the wall, we’ve had to build access roads so that the heavy equipment can get there. So, persons may look on and say not much is being done, but you have to lay that groundwork first. So we’re building a series of walls, then fill the area up to road level, but we can’t do that without putting the necessary infrastructure in place because we have to guard against this happening again in the future. It’s not a simple undertaking,” said Ricketts.

Works are being carried out by N.F. Barnes Construction & Equipment Co Ltd in Jamaica for approximately $25.9 million.