$13b road project for Corporate Area
Published:Friday | March 18, 2022 | 12:12 AM
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced a $13 billion urban road improvement project in sections of Kingston and St Andrew as well as St Catherine with high volumes of traffic.
Dubbed the Special Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) programme, Holness said that it would target six high-traffic corridors in these parishes.
In his contribution to the Budget Debate yesterday, the prime minister disclosed that Arthur Wint Drive will be widened from Mountain View to Tom Redcam Drive. Work on this road is slated to begin next month with a completion date set for August next year.
In May this year, work will start on the dualisation of East Kings House Road and Lady Musgrave Road.
He also announced that in April, this year, work will begin on the dualisation of Grange Lane from I-95 in Portmore to Madrid Avenue, including Cumberland Gully Bridge. The project is scheduled for completion in January 2023.
The prime minister said that plans are also advanced for the widening of Braeton Road and part of Hellshire Main Road, beginning April 2023.
The Sandy Gully Bridge on Washington Boulevard will be widened while a new access road to Portmore from the Mandela Highway, including a bridge over Rio Cobre, will be built, starting April next year.
MOVING FORWARD
Insisting that his administration is moving ahead with plans to make Portmore the 15th parish, the prime minister said that the Government is reviewing lands in the Sunshine City to construct a fire station and a market.
The Urban Development Corporation is finalising plans to construct a climate-change park in Portmore.
Providing an update on the Montego Bay Perimeter Road, Holness said that the US$274.5 million contract was signed with China Harbour Engineering Company, and the process of land acquisition and design works is ongoing.
He said that the widening and improvement of some local roadways in Montego Bay are slated to begin in the coming financial year.
Holness said that under the terms of the agreement, the contractor is required to collaborate with the HEART/NSTA Trust to ensure that Jamaican workers are trained and benefit from knowledge transfer.
As part of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project, the Government has approved the construction of the Port Antonio Bypass in Portland.
The project will see the construction of 17.4 kilometres of four lanes of arterial road around Port Antonio and two standard shoulders.
Holness said the primary objective is to redirect heavy traffic from the town. Two driving lanes will be built out in the first phase, with reservations for the remaining two lanes and utility corridor to accommodate water, sewerage, and broadband.
The medium-term objective is to plan out residential and limited commercial developments along the bypass corridor, which will connect with the 140,000 square feet Boundbrook Urban Centre.
“What we are doing is taking the road through relatively virgin territory, bypassing the main town, but strategically planning around that bypass road and then that bypass will eventually become the development main road through a new development for Port Antonio.”
He said for the development to take place in Port Antonio, it was necessary to get rid of the congestion in the town.
The Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project is one of the Government’s flagship road projects for the upcoming fiscal year.