Residents of Ten Miles in Bull Bay, St Andrew, eagerly gathered for the official unveiling of part BII of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) on Tuesday, transforming the 17-kilometre Harbour View to Yallahs Bridge into a four-lane thoroughfare. Excitement filled the air as locals expressed their delight, declaring that Bull Bay was no longer considered a remote area.

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Jamaica Gleaner/7 Feb 2024/Asha Wilks/Gleaner Writer 

Residents of Ten Miles in Bull Bay, St Andrew, eagerly gathered for the official 

EXCITED RESIDENTS of Ten Miles in Bull Bay, St Andrew, turned out in droves on Tuesday for the official opening of part BII of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP).

Speaking with The Gleaner as the 17-kilometre Harbour View to Yallahs Bridge four-lane project was declared open, locals exclaimed that “people can’t call Bull Bay country again”.

Touching on the overall transformation and modernisation of the area, Melissa Brissett, who has lived in the community for more than a decade, stated that it was a great achievement and that the residents were “happy and proud [of this] new beginning”.

“For me, it is a change, it is progress, and it is a great opportunity for us,” she continued.

“Dem always a say over East – Bull Bay – a country area, but not anymore. Look at the highway! Who could ever imagine that we would have a highway? ... It’s an elevation, an upliftment for our future generation and I’m saying it’s a great enrichment and reward,” Brissett said.

Similarly, Lorisha Richards Bobb, who has been living in the area since birth, said she was grateful for the improvement to the road network, especially for the children’s sake as the erection of stop lights and the placement of pedestrian crossings would serve to boost safety.

She said that previously, the children would dash across the street to beat oncoming traffic as there was no one to help them cross the busy thoroughfare.

In her remarks, St Andrew East Rural Member of Parliament Juliet Holness cautioned the residents and other motorists to use the highway safely.

“Already, some of us have already started to drive over into the sea. It is ... not like Bull Bay walls years ago, so tek your time on the road. Get to figure out how the road shape now so that you are driving safely. We have already started to have too many accidents,” she said.

In a historical look at St Thomas, which was often dubbed as ‘The Forgotten Parish’, Prime Minister Andrew Holness quoted Gleaner archive stories that highlighted the plight of the residents of the parish over a more than 50-year span.

He also highlighted the infrastructural needs, which residents cried for such as a a need for a simple footbridge.

“The history of St Thomas is not only important for us to understand the struggle that our ancestors faced, but to move from the past of struggle and to embrace the hope and prospects of prosperity,” Holness said.

“In fixing the mistakes and neglect of the past that have robbed Jamaica of its true potential, my administration has created a strong economy that is delivering the results,” he added. Holness further stated that the SCHIP project was important to Jamaica’s goal of achieving economic and political independence and liberating citizens. “The Forgotten Parish is now front and centre in the administration of the Government,” he declared.

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