Dumbarton, St Ann residents could wait until 2017 for road repairs

Residents of Dumbarton in St Ann might have to wait until next year for the main road through their community to be repaired after a huge section collapsed during last weekend’s heavy rains.

The roadway between Brown's Town and Discovery Bay roadway is impassable.

Yesterday, a technical team from the National Works Agency (NWA) visited the area to assess the damage.

Communication and Customer Services Manager at the NWA, Stephen Shaw, says the agency has started designs for the structure to replace the box culvert which was washed out.

Shaw says the NWA is hoping to complete those designs by next week.

He says the NWA will then be able to determine the likely cost for the repairs.

However, he says it’s unlikely any work will start immediately.

Meanwhile, Shaw says the flooding in the Runaway Bay area, which led to the evacuation of the police station, appears to have been caused by a combination of factors.

He explains that a number of sinkholes in the area were filled with silt and contributed to the flooding.

He also notes that the parish has been experiencing unusually high levels of rainfall and the aquifers appear to be full.