Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
MONTEGO BAY businessman, Mark Kerr-Jarrett has welcomed the planned resumption of section two of the North Coast Highway project, which has been stalled for months.
Speaking to a gathering of Montego Bay's business community at a recent meeting of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, Kerr-Jarrett, the chamber president, said the road project which stretches from Montego Bay, St. James to Ocho Rios, St. Ann, was scheduled to restart in September.
"We welcome anything that will get the project completed expeditiously," Mr. Kerr-Jarrett told The Gleaner. "It will add a much faster commuting time (which) will promote business and development in the Rose Hall area. (Also,) it means that there will be free access to the airport no matter what the weather condition is."
The resumption of the highway project follows months of concern in the Montego Bay business community about the slow development of the roadway along the tourism corridor.
ENGAGE NEW CONTRACTOR
"Steps are now underway to engage the new contractor for section one and it is expected that work will recommence on the site within the third quarter of 2005," Ivan Anderson, chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Works Agency (NWA) told Mark Kerr-Jarrett in a recent letter.
To further speed up the project, segment two has been divided into four sections, three of which will remain under the contract with Argentina-based Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles. The remaining section will be put to tender, NWA officials said.
"The current contractor will focus on completing sections two, three, and four that is Greenside/Bougate (in) Falmouth to Ocho Rios," Mr. Anderson said. "A new contractor will be engaged to focus on implementing section one, that is from Montego Bay to Greenside/Bougate (in) Falmouth."
Keith Goodison, a ministry of works official, disclosed that the tender for a new contractor has been publicised.
"The tender went out last Sunday," he said. "It will be reviewed in the next two weeks, based on (that) an award will be made and the work will commence after."
UPGRADING LANES
In addition to getting a new contractor, section one of the highway will also be upgraded from two to four lanes.
"We are looking at a four-lane road between the (Sangster International) airport roundabout to Sea Castle," said Stephen Shaw, community relations officer at the NWA office in Montego Bay.
"(This move) is based on the current traffic flow," he said. "We have seen an increase in the number of vehicles along the roadway to the point where at certain times of the day there is a pile up of traffic. We want to design the highway to meet what is there now and what will happen in another five to 10 years."
