BSJ Opens Review of Road-Building Standard Amid Jamaica Pothole Concerns

Jamaica's national standards agency has released a detailed proposed specification for road construction and is asking the public to review it, as large government road-repair projects continue to draw complaints about workmanship and how long repairs last.

The Bureau of Standards Jamaica, BSJ, is accepting comments up to July 4 on a draft standard that lays out technical rules for the full road-building process, covering everything from the earthworks below the pavement to the asphalt layer used by motorists.

According to the document, its reach is wide. "The works covered under these specifications include all labour, materials, equipment, and operations necessary for the construction of roadways, associated earthworks, structural backfill, granular layers, bituminous treatments, and asphalt concrete surfacing," it states.

A Road Construction Technical Committee prepared the draft. It draws on several existing references, including the Jamaican Standard Specification for Ready-mixed Concrete, the National Works Agency's Technical Specification effective December 2015, and standards issued by the American Concrete Institute.

The proposal has landed at a sensitive moment. Jamaica is spending about $40 billion under Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to its Road Network, or SPARK. That work is being carried out alongside the National Road Services Improvement Programme, the GO Road Rehab Programme, and repair efforts at the parish level.

Even with that level of public spending, complaints remain common that roads recently fixed are breaking up soon after work is done. In many cases, new potholes appear within weeks, sometimes after the first spell of heavy rain.

The draft standard seeks to tighten the technical side of road construction by setting exact tolerances. For surface finish, it says: "The finished surface shall be at all points not less than the specified depth below the finished pavement surface or vary more than 12mm in 3m using a straight edge".

That limit of 12 millimetres is about the width of a pencil. If such a standard were applied and enforced, it would likely make it more difficult for poor-quality roadwork to be accepted.

The document does not specifically deal with potholes, nor does it require that repaired roads last for any stated minimum period. Still, it sets out duties for contractors. "The contractor shall remove blotting sand prior to asphalt concrete lay down operations at no additional expense to the owner," the draft says.

It also establishes firm benchmarks for materials. Aggregate for the wearing course must record a Los Angeles Abrasion value of less than 40 per cent after 500 revolutions. That laboratory test measures how much aggregate deteriorates under repeated impact, reflecting the pressure roads face from traffic over time.

For base course material, the California Bearing Ratio must be at least 80 per cent. The test is widely used internationally to assess subgrade strength, and the requirement is meant to help ensure that the road foundation can handle Jamaica's rainfall and traffic loads.

The asphalt concrete section is similarly specific, with clear implications for how roadwork is now being done. "Laying temperature should be greater than 135 degrees centigrade and rolling of the asphaltic concrete should be completed by no less than 85 degrees centigrade," the document says.

Asphalt placed or compacted below those temperatures may fail to bind properly. That can leave the road surface more prone to cracking and pothole development, a problem engineers say is often seen on Jamaican projects.

The draft also requires the compacted asphalt mat to reach density above 98 per cent of the Marshall design mix. Asphalt temperature must not go above 175 degrees Celsius at any time, while bitumen must stay below 165 degrees before it is mixed with aggregate.

The National Works Agency, which is responsible for building and maintaining public roads, did not answer questions from the Financial Gleaner. Its executive director, E.G. Hunter, had not responded by press time.

The BSJ said the proposed standard is voluntary. However, Jamaican standards may be made compulsory by the minister, once recommended by the Standards Council. Public comments will be accepted until July 4, and completed forms may be sent through the BSJ website at www.bsj.org.jm.