HMC councillors oppose new plans for Seaview Drive

WESTERN BUREAU:

A change in plans for the resurfacing of Seaview Drive in Lucea, Hanover, has infuriated councillors at the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), who say the new direction disregards concerns raised by local stakeholders.

At last Thursday’s meeting of the HMC, Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels gave an outline of the plans disclosed by the National Works Agency (NWA) at a recent stakeholder meeting to resurface the 200 metres of the roadway with rigid concrete pavement. However, Saad Campbell, the corporation’s chief engineering officer, explained that the plans had since been altered.

Campbell said that at a recent meeting of the Hanover Traffic Management Committee, which was attended by representatives from the NWA, it was announced that the scope of the works has been changed.

He explained that the $39-million contract that was announced for the project at the stakeholders meeting, and which would have seen the work starting on October 5, had been cancelled and replaced by a new plan to fix the roadway under a $54-million SPARK allocation previously earmarked to fix roadways and drains in the parish.

Marvell Sewell, councillor for the Green Island Division, was peeved and called on fellow councillors not to accept the change.

“We should all reject this move because it will be a waste of SPARK money, which is taxpayers’ money,” said Sewell. “It is a known fact that the asphaltic concrete will not last on that roadway for any amount of time. I do not think we as Hanoverians should accept that change because in a short time, we will be right back where we started.”

Residents deserve better

Deputy Mayor Andria Dehaney-Grant, councillor for the Sandy Bay Division, said the residents of Hanover deserve much better than what is being dished out to them.

“The changes should not be accepted, as it goes without saying, that if the asphaltic concrete is used, within three weeks maximum, the roadway will be back to square one, which is its congested state caused by the road condition,” she said, noting that stakeholders are prepared to continue enduring the bad road conditions that has been plaguing them.

Seaview Drive, which is also referred to as Seawall Drive, has been a state of significant disrepair for a long time and has been a source of much discontent due to traffic congestion.

Whenever it rains, what is normally a three-minute drive along the roadway can extend to up to 45 minutes, which has at times resulted in visitors to the island travelling from Negril to the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay missing their flights.

During the meeting, a decision was taken for the HMC to seek a meeting with the NWA with a view to getting an explanation as to why the original plans were altered and what is the scope of work, including the expected lifespan of the remedial work to be carried out under the new project.

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