Early Christmas gift for highway users

Less than 24 hours after Transport Minister Mike Henry disclosed that repairs on the Portmore leg of Highway 2000 would stretch into next year, the ministry yesterday announced a change in the timetable.

"Following discussions with the agencies/entities relative to the ongoing repair works to sections of the Portmore leg of the Highway 2000 network, arrangements are now in place for the project to be completed before the Christmas holiday period," the transport ministry said in a press statement.

"After closer consultations with the parties responsible for the repairs, he (Henry) has been assured that with the requisite arrangements in place, the job can be completed in December, ahead of the Christmas period," added the ministry.

However, there was no indication as to what had changed in the hours after Henry told the post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday that roadwork would extend to January or February next year.

At that time, Henry claimed that security concerns were affecting the ability of the toll operators to work at night, which could reduce the time of repair.

Talks continue

But yesterday, the transport ministry said Henry recently started discussions with Bouygues, the firm handling the repairs, along with the National Road Operating and Constructing Company, the Toll Authority and other parties and those talks are slated to continue today.

News that the repair will be completed before Christmas was given cautious welcome by several Portmore residents yesterday.

They have been complaining about the travel delays caused by the roadwork and anger greeted the announcement that the repairs would extend into next year.

"We will wait and see, but we can't take much more of this," one Portmore resident, who withheld his name, told The Gleaner yesterday, as he repeated arguments that the repairs were adding more than an hour to his daily journey into Kingston.