Coast Road opens ahead of deadline

THE EAST Kingston Coast Road is now open to vehicular traffic, two months ahead of the projected mid-July completion date. This follows on the handing over of the road on May 18, by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) to the Ministry of Transport and Works and the National Works Agency.

The team led by Minister of State, in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Dean Peart, also examined the bridge over the Mountain View Gully, which was constructed to facilitate drive-through traffic.

Temporary traffic signals have also been installed at the major intersections to regulate the flow of traffic and a slip road constructed to filter traffic from Windward Road onto the Coast Road. During this early period, the motorised patrol division of the Police Department will patrol the area to assist motorists in the correct use of the road.

The 3.5-km dual carriageway, which links the eastern end of Kingston to the west via downtown Kingston, was constructed in two phases. During phase 1, 0.8 km of roadway between Windward Road and Hyslop Avenue was constructed, at a cost of $50m. In the phase just completed, a further 2.7km was constructed, from the southern section of Paradise Street to the southern section of Hyslop Avenue, by West Indies Home Contractors Limited, at an estimated cost of $173m.

Construction of the Coast Road is part of the UDC's redevelopment plan for East and Central Kingston. The plan includes the Tax Incentive Programme for Urban Renewal of downtown Kingston, refurbishing of Bellevue Hospital and the Manley Meadows Housing Development.

The UDC is also to carry out additional works in this area to connect Lower South Camp Road to the Coast Road, as well as to extend the road from Paradise Street to Rae Town. Designs are now being done and land acquired to facilitate these additional works.

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