Shaw looks to gullies as new bypass around Kingston traffic

Karena Bennett, Business Reporter

Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw says research is currently under way for the development of roadways above gullies across Jamaica, particularly in Kingston, as a direct response to increasing vehicular traffic in the capital.

“It is now being researched that wherever there is a gully, there is an opportunity for a bypass above the gully.

“You don’t have to take out a house, you don’t have to buy out anywhere. There is a gully that runs from the top of our Corporate Area and goes right down to the sea. That becomes an automatic highway from the hills to the sea,” Shaw said today during the 15th Regional Investment Capital Markets Conferences put by the Jamaica Stock Exchange in New Kingston.

According to Shaw, gullies, which were introduced to Jamaica by Sir Alexander Bustamante as a means of reducing flooding across the island, is just one of a number of initiatives being looked at by the government as part of the country’s overall development and traffic management strategy.

“We all know about the improvements taking place on the corridors, not just the cities. The highways are good but because of the amount of vehicles in the country we still have a problem,” he said.

The conference is being staged under the theme ‘The Winds of Change: Capital, Innovation and Technology’.

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