Holness begs for patience as St Thomas road work completion date pushed back

The deadline for completion of several sections of the St Thomas leg of the Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) has been pushed back to this summer.

In May last year, the Government said it was anticipating that substantial works would be completed by March 2023 on the first two tranches of the project.

However, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has informed that recent updates from the National Works Agency indicate that the first tranche, which includes Morant Bay, Long Road and two roads from Cedar Valley to Portland, is now expected to be completed by summer.

In the meantime, the major section from Harbour View to Yallahs is also projected to be completed this summer. 

Holness gave the update while speaking on Wednesday at the Jamaica Stock Exchange's 18th Regional Investments and Capital Markets Conference.

Urging St Thomas residents to be patient, Holness said delivering the best roads for residents will take just a little more time. 

“I understand the complaints and the dislocation, but we have to start thinking long-term and appreciate that now is a different time. So, we have to build our infrastructure for it to be resilient against the impact of climate change,” he said.

Construction on the SCHIP began in January 2017 and is now slated to end in March 2025.

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