Tropical Storm Gustav has left at least $3 billion in damage to the country's road infrastructure, says Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry.
He says a full assessment of the damage to the road network has not been made, but the damage done to two main bridges alone is approxi-mately $1.5 billion.
The Hope River bridge in Harbour View, St Andrew, as well as the Georgia bridge in Portland were destroyed by gushing rivers, swollen by heavy rains associated with Gustav on Thursday into Friday.
A number of other bridges have also been damaged across the island, the minister said, but no estimates have been made.
Dedicated fund
"I am hoping that we can look at creating a dedicated fund (to undertake infrastructure work). We are going to look at that to see how we will raise that issue overall. I have some ideas and I will speak to it after I have discussed it with Cabinet," Henry added.
More than 150 roads were cleared by the National Works Agency yesterday as the country continued recovery efforts in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Gustav which has now become a hurricane.
It ripped through the Cayman Islands and western Cuba and was heading for New Orleans in the US state of Louisiana on the weekend.
Yesterday, more than 100 roads, remained blocked by mud, debris and water.
The Bog Walk gorge remains closed and could remain so for at least another seven days due to extensive damage, Henry said.
The minister noted that the construction of a Bailey bridge began in Harbour View yesterday in an effort to make it accessible to pedestrians by this morning.
"I'm even looking to build a ford for the heavy trucks," Henry told The Gleaner yesterday.
Shelters emptied as people across the island returned to their homes in an effort to get their lives back on track.
Some 862 people remained in 50 shelters up to yesterday afternoon, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said, with 255 people in Kingston and St Andrew still in shelters. St Catherine followed with 211.
Ten people have been killed by Gustav while the bodies of several others believed to be dead have still not been found.
