THE OLD Harbour bypass will be closed to vehicular traffic for two-hour periods for the next three weekends to facilitate blasting for the Highway 2000 toll road.
Also effective immediately and until Saturday, the eastbound lane of the bypass will be closed to the public between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m to facilitate the erection of the Palmetto Bridge pre-cast beams on the toll road.
The National Works Agency said the closure on weekends is to minimise inconvenience and ensure the safety of the travelling public. The bypass will be closed from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m and from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. The public is advised to proceed with caution and observe the instructions of the flag persons and the posted warning signs.
The toll system is expected to be implemented in June 2003 and though Government will have no direct say in what toll highway commuters will pay, if it does not like the rates it has the option of cushioning motorists by subsidising the toll. TransJamaican Highway, the operating company for the Highway 2000 toll road, now under construction by its sister company Bouygues Travaux Publics, will be setting the toll rates, but has already agreed that it will not go above seven US cents per kilometre, in line with international rates.
The rates will be set in US dollars, and applied at the manual and automatic toll booths in Jamaican currency. The first segment of the phase under construction will have tolling points at the Old Harbour bypass, at the new bridge to replace the Portmore Causeway, at the Dyke Road in the vicinity of the Mandela Highway, and at the Spanish Town interchange.
