The Transport, Works, and Housing Ministry is in the process of identifying nearly $130 million to repair sections of Wharf Road and Lyssons main road, St Thomas, which have been damaged by the sea.

The damage includes erosion and undermining of the roadways' supporting infrastructure, including base foundations and protective seawalls, along the shoreline sections of both corridors.

This has resulted in breakaways of significant sections of the roads' surfaces, which pose a risk to pedestrians and motorists traversing both corridors, major links between Jamaica's east coast and the rest of the island.

In the case of the Lyssons main road, vehicular movement has been reduced to single-lane traffic from either end of the corridor. The damaged areas have been cordoned by the National Works Agency (NWA) as a warning for motorists and pedestrians.

Damage assessment

State minister for transport, works, and housing, Richard Azan, along with Dr Fenton Ferguson, health minister, and member of parliament, Eastern St Thomas, where both roads are located, along with NWA officers, visited the areas last Friday to view the extent of the damage.

Azan said NWA technical teams have conducted damage assessments at both locations, and have indicated in reports that the repairs for Wharf Road will cost more than $100 million. Approximately $28 million is needed for the Lyssons road.