Davis: $124b highway to ease MoBay to Ocho Rios travel
Published:Wednesday | November 9, 2022 | 11:07 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE GOVERNMENT is spearheading the investment of approximately $124 billion (US$800 million) to build a new four-lane highway from Rose Hall in Montego Bay, St James, to Mammee Bay, St Ann.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has been engaged by the Government to design and execute what is expected to be Jamaica’s first public-private partnership road project. A Financial Advisory Services Agreement (FASA) was signed by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke and IFC managing director, Makhtar Diop, in Washington, DC, on October 13.
According to Homer Davis, minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister West, the expansion of the existing roadway from two lanes to four will eradicate the congestion currently experienced by motorists traversing the busy north coast corridor.
“This is well advanced, this is not a pipe dream, this will be a reality very soon. From Seacastle to Mammee Bay, a modern four-lane highway to the tune of some US$800 million,” Davis said. The new four-lane highway will, upon completion, bypass congestion-prone spots at Priory, Runaway Bay and Discovery Bay in St Ann.
The state minister gave the update during a panel discussion at the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Invest MoBay Forum.
Davis argued that this project is an example of the big-ticket investments being carried out by the Government. Another such investment is the US$274.5 million Montego Bay Perimeter Road Project, for which ground was broken in July.
While no timeline for the construction phase was given by Davis, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in his 2022-23 Budget presentation, noted that the current roadway, in some sections, is similar to a parochial road with many ingresses, crossings and encroachments that have contributed to increased travel time and traffic congestion.
“We are expecting to complete the planning phase to progress to the public investment and procurement stages in time for construction in the next fiscal year (2023-24),” Holness told Parliament eight months ago.
Turning to Hanover, Davis said the traffic issues being faced there will very shortly be a thing of the past.
“If you look into our sister parish of Hanover, plans are well advanced for a bypass road for Hopewell, a bypass road for Lucea,” he said.
Lucea is the parish capital of Hanover and stakeholders have long called for a bypass road to address the daily traffic congestion.
The problem of getting in and out of Hopewell and Lucea gets even more challenging with the increasing number of vehicles using the corridor en route to the resort town of Negril, which is shared between Hanover and Westmoreland, especially in periods of heavy rainfall.
“It is painfully obvious that the town of Lucea needs a bypass. The one way into the town has outlived its usefulness, and it is time enough for the change,” Tamika Davis, member of parliament (MP) for Hanover Western, highlighted in her contribution to the State of the Constituency Debate last year.
The state minister, who has portfolio responsibility for government projects from St Ann through to Westmoreland, said these developments are being done to facilitate the expansion of commerce and ease traffic congestion for all Jamaicans and visitors to the island.
“You can’t come off a plane (at Sangster International Airport) and it takes you the same time, for example, from New York to here, as it takes you from Montego Bay to Negril,” Davis argued as he emphasised the urgency of addressing the problem.