PAT ROXBOROUGH-WRIGHT, Editor-at-Large/Western Bureau
Friday, November 14, 2008
Courtesy of Jamaica Information Service
MONTEGO BAY ST James - The government yesterday signed a J$1.4 billion contract with Surrey Paving and Aggregate Limited to effect long-awaited improvements to the problem-plagued Bogue main road, one of the main entrance points for traffic from the island's south coast into Montego Bay.
The work, which will be effected under segment 1a of the North Coast Highway Improvement Project, will see the dualisation of the roadway between the Reading community and Fairview which has for years been the source of dreadful traffic snarls resulting in delays of up to four hours on occasion. This has resulted in a virtually incalculable loss of productive hours, much to the consternation of business and tourism interests who have long lobbied for the situation to be addressed.
According to Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry, the work is to be completed within a year.
"...Before the start of the next tourist season... you'll have your new roadway," he said to an appreciative audience of tourism and business interests who attended the contract-signing ceremony at the western regional office of the Prime Minister yesterday.
Also present at the signing was Energy minister and Member of Parliament for West Central St James, Clive Mullings, who thanked the Jamaica Public Service for halving the cost of moving the train lines by Bogue to facilitate the development.
Businessman Mark Kerr-Jarret also came in for commendation from Minister Henry for the contribution he will make in terms of the land that will facilitate the development.
In the meantime, alternative routes and other temporary measures are to be identified in short order so that motorists will not be unduly inconvenienced by the work.
And Leslie Chang, CEO of Surrey Paving, promised to make use of the night hours to do much of the work in order to leave the roadway free during peak traffic hours and ensure that the project will be completed within the one-year time frame. Chang said that as a part of his company's mandate to retain its IS0 9000 certification - an international standard aimed at guaranteeing quality work - one of its projects had to undergo an audit on a yearly basis. He said that his company would be submitting this project for auditing in keeping with that tradition.
In the meantime plans are afoot to establish a formal system of traffic control for Montego Bay, Minister Henry said. The system will see the introduction of colour codes among other measures to facilitate better traffic management.
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