Three Miles bypass coming

The Government has signed a contract with China Harbour Engineering Company to construct a new bypass for Three Miles in St Andrew to help ease traffic congression.

Three Miles was closed more than a week ago to facilitate construction works to upgrade Hagley Park Road. 

The closure, which is to last for eight months, has resulted in traffic nightmares for motorists. 

Speaking at a press conference at Jamaica House this morning Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the bypass will be built alongside the out-of-use rail track between Marcus Garvey Drive in St Andrew and Caymanas in St Catherine at a cost of US$1 million with funding by the Major Infrastructure Development Programme and will be completed within five weeks.

Work has already started.

Holness told reporters that there was a plan to upgrade the area as part of the government's development of a Special Economic Zone in Caymanas.

He said that plan was brought forward as the administration implements a traffic management strategy.

Holness said that roads which were selected as alternative routes for Three Miles were inadequate, as they had too many diversions, “too many turns into smaller roads”, and were causing disruption to several communities.

“There is a rail line that runs through Caymanas on the south side of the highway coming into St Andrew, running behind Seaview Gardens, going down to Marcus Garvey Drive, and running behind Tinson Pen.

“It would, therefore, be a perfect corridor to put a road that would be dedicated to the movement of goods, particularly goods containerised and pull by trailers, so it can make a direct link from the Caymanas Industrial Zone, which we plan to develop, right into the port,” Holness explained.

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