Gregory Park taxi protest puts Portmore road repairs under fresh pressure

Taxi operators serving the Gregory Park route in Portmore parked their vehicles on Wednesday to press for urgent road repairs, as Member of Parliament for East Central St. Catherine Alando Terrelonge accused the National Works Agency of taking too long to act.

The protest affected commuters along the Gregory Park route and renewed concern about deteriorating road surfaces across sections of Portmore. Terrelonge said he has spent the past seven months raising the matter with the NWA, but residents and transport operators have still not seen the repairs they were expecting.

The MP said road conditions across East Central St. Catherine are now the worst he has seen in about 10 years. He pointed to several problem areas, including the stretch from the 95 through Christian Pen, the section near the clinic, the corridor by Cedar Grove Academy, Newlands main road and Grange Lane.

Terrelonge said residents had shown patience after being told government resources had to be redirected following Hurricane Melissa. He said more than $67 billion had been shifted to help repair western Jamaica communities damaged by the hurricane, and that he was advised road funding would be released once the national budget was read.

According to Terrelonge, the budget process has now passed, but the East Central St. Catherine road repairs have not yet taken place. He said that delay has left residents frustrated after months of waiting.

Separate roadworks are now under way along Municipal Boulevard towards Hellshire. NWA communication manager Stephen Shaw confirmed that the agency knows about the concerns affecting the Gregory Park corridor. He said estimates have already been prepared and procurement for the works has started.

Shaw said repairs along the corridor will begin once the procurement process is completed.