Jamaica's state standards body has put forward a comprehensive road construction specification for public comment, a move that comes as billions of dollars in government road repair programmes face persistent criticism over the quality and durability of their work.

The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) is inviting public comment until July 4 on a draft standard that sets technical requirements for every layer of road construction, from the earthworks beneath a road's surface to the asphalt wearing course that vehicles drive on. The scope of the standard is broad.

"The works covered under these specifications include all labour, materials, equipment, and operations necessary for the construction of roadways, associated earthworks, structural backfill, granular layers, bituminous treatments, and asphalt concrete surfacing," the document states.