Vehicles drive through flooded roads outside Annotto Bay, St. Mary, on Monday. Heavy rains resulted in many roads in Portland and St. Mary being flooded. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor

Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie, yesterday estimated the damage to the road network in Kingston and St. Andrew at $750 million.

The mayor made the disclosure while announcing that some funds would be allocated to the council from the Transport and Works Ministry to fix some of these roads.

"The rains have not done us any favour and the forecast doesn't hold too well based on what is happening," said Mayor McKenzie while addressing the monthly meeting of the KSAC yesterday. "This can be considered the worst hurricane season we have had in many moons and only one real hurricane can be associated with the season."

The hurricane season ends on November 30 and Jamaica was impacted by Hurricane Dean on August 19.

No political red-tape

The mayor said the KSAC would be putting together a programme that would put the council in a position to commence work immediately.

"The allocation will not be done on a political basis. (It) will be determined by virtue of the survey and assessment that were undertaken by our technical officers in the first place. And I am appealing to councillors that I do not want the issue of road repairs in Kingston and St. Andrew to become a political football for any of the two political parties in the council."

The mayor said the KSAC would not be able to address all the roads at the same time but that the repairs would be done over time.

The figure does not include the cost to clear the blocked drains, some of which were cleared before the rains started.