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Four-lane highway from MoBay to Ocho Rios coming

Published:Friday | December 20, 2019 | 12:32 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Business leaders operating along Jamaica’s north coast are poised to experience a reduction in travelling time in the near future as the Government has indicated that it will be expanding the existing road network into a four-lane highway between St James and St Ann.

The expansion of the existing roadway, according to National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang, would reroute traffic from several major townships.

The Government has not yet settled on a budget for the corridor said Chang during an address to business leaders in Montego Bay recently.

It will bypass Priory, Runaway Bay, and Discovery Bay.

Chang, who is also member of parliament for St James North Western, said that the highway would ease congestion. He said that the Government was hopeful that the design would get under way by the end of calendar year 2020.

Relief for businesses

Delroy Christie, president of the Trelawny Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has welcomed the announcement, saying that a four-lane highway would provide relief for both the business community and the travelling public.

“If people can move faster, that will make a big difference because there are [traffic] jams in certain parts of the North Coast Highway,” said Christie.“Places like Salem and Priory are problem areas. Even the changeover when you are coming off the North-South link (Edward Seaga Highway), something is wrong with it.”

Vana Taylor, president of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce, sees the projected development as a breath of fresh air, especially within the wider scope of development for Ocho Rios.

“We need that badly,” said Taylor. “That’s good news for us and the police because they are faced with the problem of trying to control the traffic, especially from Discovery Bay into Ocho Rios.”

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