WESTERN BUREAU: Ivan Anderson, managing director of the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC), says that the design for the Montego Bay leg of Highway 2000 is now being drafted and he is expecting that work on the much-anticipated project should start by the end of this year.
Anderson made the announcement while addressing the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (MBCCI) monthly meeting on Wednesday night.
Three years of construction
"We have surveyors about to go into the field to set out the alignment of the highway. Once we have the alignment pegged down on the ground, then we'll start issuing notices. Typically we issue a Section 3 notice to the public to say that your land might be affected by the roadway, pending finalisation of the design," said Anderson.
"The project will [involve] three years of construction. We've done a fair amount of the design already, but we're going to be doing some more detailed designs," said Anderson. "That will be completed hopefully by the end of this year, and then the three years' work would begin from there. We've applied for funding and hopefully by the time we finish the designing we'll have the funding in place," he added.
Part of the NROCC's preliminary design for the highway includes a bypass road between Ironshore and Bogue to reduce traffic in downtown Montego Bay. There will also be connections to several communities to include Porto Bello, Green Pond and Salt Spring. Anderson noted that only motorists who will be using the full length of the roadway would be required to pay a toll.
Christopher Thomas, The Gleaner Jamaica, 2018
