By Lavern Clarke, Staff ReporterFINISHING TOUCHES remain on the 14-kilometre Old Harbour bypass, but highway administrators said Tuesday that while a definite date remains to be set, the August deadline for the start to tolling will be met.
But, up to yesterday, Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill still had not signed off on the road fee, leaving TransJamaican Highway a bit uncertain that its own August 11 timetable to start collections will remain intact.
"We are in the hands of the Ministry," managing director Trevor Jackson told The Gleaner. The Government got the application from May.
The toll rates under consideration, if approved, should see motorists paying about $50 one-way to travel the bypass.
JAMAICAN AND MALAYSIAN OFFICIALS
Kingsley Thomas, head of the Government agency overseeing the highway development, National Road Operating and Construction Company, says the road's official opening will occur in August, but the exact date he said rests on the availability of Jamaican and Malaysian officials who want to be part of the event. Malaysia, which has a more than two-decade-old tolling regime, has been providing Jamaica with technical assistance on the Highway 2000 project.
Mr. Thomas said a deliberate decision was made for the toll regime to be implemented after the Denbigh Agricultural Show, which runs August 1-3, as the expected traffic would far exceed the normal average daily flow on the bypass, and highway officials were uncertain that the fledgling operation could handle the volumes so soon.
"The road is designed for a certain number of vehicles. That amount increases between five and ten fold for Denbigh," he said. "I don't want to put that pressure so early on the system with new staff that are currently being trained, so we are deferring it."
FANFARE OPENING
Toll collections will begin before the fanfare opening - likely a week before - so that any operational bugs can be smoothed before the main event, said the NROCC chairman. Payment can be made either in cash or pre-paid electronic cards, which will be on the market prior to the start of tolling. The tolling date will be decided on the basis of the opening date which is likely to come at the end of August.
"We're in a dynamic mode," said Mr. Thomas, explaining the scheduling arrangements. "The opening depends on the time availability of the officials here and abroad."
Finishing touches remain on the toll plaza, the overpass at Sharper Lane, the median dividing the dual carriageway, fencing of the road, and phones are being installed.
TransJamaican, whose sister company, Jamaica Infrastructure Operator, will have control of the highway's daily operations, is in the process of training staff to operate the toll booth and highway, with a simulated exercise of an emergency rescue set for next week.
