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SHERWOOD CONTENT, Trelawny - Residents of this deep rural community yesterday blocked sections of the roadway to protest the manner in which road repairs are being undertaken in the hometown of Olympic triple gold medallist Usain Bolt.
"Wi nuh like what dem say dem a go do," one of the more than 100 protesters told the Observer. "Dem can't just resurface one section of the community and patch up the others; the whole place must be resurfaced," she emphasised.
Work on the roadway began last Friday, shortly after Prime Minister Bruce Golding instructed Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry to repair roads in the hometowns of Bolt and his teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser.
The project, which is being undertaken by the National Works Agency (NWA) at a cost of $10.7 million, includes the patching of more than 3,000 square metres of potholes, bushing, as well as the resurfacing of sections of the Sherwood Content corridor.
But the protesting residents yesterday argued that the resurfacing to be undertaken does not include a section of the community called 'Bottom Town'.
"They said that they are not going to resurface Bottom Town, they are going to patch it; but that road can't patch because the condition of it is very bad," said an angry Tracy Ann Palmer.
The demonstration, which lasted for more than four hours, temporarily brought work to a halt on the usually busy roadway.
The angry residents, however, decided to call off their protest after councillor for the area, Fernandez "Bingy" Smith, promised to make representation on their behalf for the resurfacing of the 'Bottom Town' road.
"I have already had a meeting with member of parliament for the area, Dr Patrick Harris, and we have made it clear that the National Works Agency must resurface the Botton Town road, which is heavily populated," the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor told the Observer.
Residents of Sherwood Content have long called for the authorities to effect repairs to the roads in the community.
The calls became even more louder after Bolt won the 100 metres Olympic gold medal in record 9.69 seconds last Saturday. Bolt also won the 200 metres race in a record 19.30 seconds and ran the third leg of the 4x100-metre relay to smash the world record.
"Wi nuh like what dem say dem a go do," one of the more than 100 protesters told the Observer. "Dem can't just resurface one section of the community and patch up the others; the whole place must be resurfaced," she emphasised.
Work on the roadway began last Friday, shortly after Prime Minister Bruce Golding instructed Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry to repair roads in the hometowns of Bolt and his teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser.
The project, which is being undertaken by the National Works Agency (NWA) at a cost of $10.7 million, includes the patching of more than 3,000 square metres of potholes, bushing, as well as the resurfacing of sections of the Sherwood Content corridor.
But the protesting residents yesterday argued that the resurfacing to be undertaken does not include a section of the community called 'Bottom Town'.
"They said that they are not going to resurface Bottom Town, they are going to patch it; but that road can't patch because the condition of it is very bad," said an angry Tracy Ann Palmer.
The demonstration, which lasted for more than four hours, temporarily brought work to a halt on the usually busy roadway.
The angry residents, however, decided to call off their protest after councillor for the area, Fernandez "Bingy" Smith, promised to make representation on their behalf for the resurfacing of the 'Bottom Town' road.
"I have already had a meeting with member of parliament for the area, Dr Patrick Harris, and we have made it clear that the National Works Agency must resurface the Botton Town road, which is heavily populated," the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor told the Observer.
Residents of Sherwood Content have long called for the authorities to effect repairs to the roads in the community.
The calls became even more louder after Bolt won the 100 metres Olympic gold medal in record 9.69 seconds last Saturday. Bolt also won the 200 metres race in a record 19.30 seconds and ran the third leg of the 4x100-metre relay to smash the world record.
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