St Thomas road improvement work to start in eight weeks

Member of Parliament for Western St Thomas James Robertson is assuring residents that road-improvement works will begin soon and that countless job opportunities are on the way.

Robertson said that ground-breaking activities for the leg of the improvement plan linking Morant Bay to Seaforth and Cedar Valley will happen in eight weeks' time.

"My understanding is that we are at that crossroads. We can't go any longer in the east like this, and by 'east', I mean from Harbour View to Port Antonio and from Morant Bay to Cedar Valley. We can't afford to educate our children in this condition, and thank God the solution has come," he said.

Robertson said some $1.5 billion is to be spent on this leg of the improvement plan.

In the meantime, Robertson said that reconstruction of the Johnson River Bridge, separating the properties of Serge Island from Seaforth, which was destroyed some 15 years ago by heavy rains, is to be commissioned in the next three weeks.

Since its destruction, vehicles going into Danvers Pen and surrounding communities from Seaforth have been travelling through a section of the Serge Island pastures.

However, he noted that the reconstruction of the bridge is not a part of the $1.5-billion improvement plan.

Meanwhile, briefly addressing the planned shutdown of Serge Island Dairies in St Thomas, Robertson said that he is not moved as the parish is still poised for success.

"There are other factories in Danvers Pen that will take up the slack of these 66-plus individuals whose employment status will be changing with the closure. We can still go forward with success. I'm not daunted, afraid or frightened by any one obstacle. What we need is the highway to start and individuals to get jobs. That will open up new opportunities," he said.