Portmore Toll Road Opened

The year 2006 was one of significant achievements for the Ministry of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, with the continued development of Highway 2000 and the opening of the Portmore toll bridge and toll plaza, bringing the number of toll roads in Jamaica to three.

            Residents of Portmore, displeased at the decision to charge a toll, had vowed to boycott the roadway, but the opening of the six-lane bridge on July 15, saw a steady stream of traffic, as persons took advantage of reduced time of travel and congestion that the roadway offered.  By the end of the day, a total of 16,000 vehicles had passed through the toll bridge.

            “We have a well engineered roadway and now commuters will spend less time in their daily commute, enabling more production time,” he stated.

            He pointed out that the use of the toll road would “make long-term economic sense, as it relates to time, and vehicle wear and tear,” adding that motorists could also benefit from the frequent-user rates offered.

            The government had announced a subsidised rate, which allowed drivers of motorcars to pay a toll of $50 per trip for up to 10 passages per week and more frequent users to pay $40 per trip.

            “We have been overwhelmed by the response of the travelling public, in fact, we had to open more lanes because we had not anticipated so many persons would be coming through,” he said.

            Within the first two days of operation, some 33,000 motorists travelled on the Portmore toll road and usage increased by the start of the new school year in September, with 11,000 motorists using the bridge on the morning of September 4

            On other road development, segment two of the North Coast Highway, from Montego Bay in St. James to Ocho Rios in St. Ann was opened in December.

            Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, said that the construction of the North Coast Highway would boost economic opportunities in the communities located along the highway corridor.

            She said that the project was a significant development, adding that it would provide social and economic opportunities in many areas, including agriculture, tourism and construction.

            The 270-kilometre North Coast Highway Project, which stretches from Negril to Morant Point is expected to cost approximately US$300 million. Segment one, which extends from Negril to Montego Bay was opened in 2002, and segment three, which runs from Ocho Rios to Kingston is scheduled to be completed in 2008.

            “I certainly look forward to the year 2008 and the completion of the final segment when we can proudly declare a job well done and await the completion of just one other area so that we can link the entire country, and our people will have easy access to travel from parish to parish,” the Prime Minister said.

            In October, the Prime Minister turned on traffic lights at the Priory intersection in St. Ann's Bay, during a tour of segment three of the project.

            "I hope that this intersection and what we are about to do, will help to save lives and help to create the kind of discipline and good order that we need in this country," she said.