Portmore residents anticipate dualisation of Grange Lane
Published:Friday | September 2, 2022 | 12:12 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
Residents from several communities in Portmore will benefit from a $743-million planned dualisation of 1.1 kilometres of Grange Lane.
In outlining the scope of the project on Thursday, the National Works Agency (NWA) said that each of the four lanes will be 3.65 metres wide with turning lanes at critical intersections.
Construction is set to start next month and should run for nine months.
The project will also include works on Madrid Avenue and the Cumberland Gully Bridge, drain improvements, as well as the installation of pipes and culverts.
The construction cost does not include an undeclared budget for land acquisition to facilitate the widening of the corridor.
“This project will also provide the capacity that is required for the Bernard Lodge development as increased demand will exist along this corridor,” said Kurt-Vaughn Clarke, senior highway engineer at the NWA. “The project is also designed to mitigate existing recurrent congestion and improve connectivity between Passagefort Drive and Municipal Boulevard, the Portmore town centre as well as Spanish Town.”
Happy Content, Cedar Grove, West Cumberland, Morris Meadows, and other adjoining communities in Portmore are slated to benefit from this road improvement.
Dalin Stone, president of the Morris Meadows Citizens’ Association, welcomed the plans.
“The issue of traffic management between the stoplights at the two gas stations on Municipal Boulevard and Grange Lane will be addressed with this improvement,” Stone said.
He added that the citizens had been calling for this project since 2007 and that his association had also proposed a renaming of Grange Lane to Grange Boulevard, with a decision pending at the municipal corporation.
NWA Communication and Customer Services Manager Stephen Shaw said the improvements will also include the installation of cameras able to recognise licence plates as part of the traffic-management system.
Jephet Williams, president of the Happy Content Benevolent Society, is hoping the improvement will lead to a reduction in crime as it also makes movement in and out of the communities easier.
St Catherine East Central Member of Parliament Alando Terrelonge said he has been advocating for the project since he was first elected in 2016.
“My representation has changed the infrastructural image of Portmore and as we transitioned into Jamaica’s 15th parish, we will have all the amenities that we need,” Terrelonge told The Gleaner.
He added that he will next lobby for additional lanes for emergency vehicles to improve response times for such units.