The government on Thursday November 13, 2008 signed a $1.4 billion JMD contract for Segment 1A of the Northern Coastal Highway Improvement Project, with contractors, Surrey Paving and Aggregates Ltd. This contract was signed at the western regional Office of the Prime Minister, in Montego Bay St. James.
Segment 1A of the North Coast Highway Improvement Project involves the much anticipated widening of the Bogue main road in St. James. The Bogue corridor which is a major entrance point to the city of Montego Bay has been the source of traffic delay, during the morning and evening peak hours. This is due to the corridor’s inability to accommodate the volume of vehicular traffic especially between the hours of 7: 00 AM and 9:00AM and again from 4:00PM to 7:00PM weekdays when traffic is at its peak.
In response to this problem the government has embarked on a programme which involves the widening of the existing corridor to accommodate four lanes of traffic with improved intersection designs and significant drainage improvements.
This phase of the project begins 300 metres west of the Reading Intersection and extends 300 metres west of the Fairfield intersection. The project also involves the reconstruction of 1.5 km roadway perpendicular to the Segment 1A of the highway from the West Green round-a-bout, along the Fairfield main road to the Granville intersection.
Additionally Segment 1A involves the rehabilitation of six bridges which were constructed under Segment 1 of the North Coast Highway which extends from the Bogue corner in St. James to the Negril round-a-bout in Westmoreland. The scope of works involves repairing the approaches, plugging the expansion joints of the bridges and paving the decks of same.
Speaking at the signing ceremony Minister of Transport and Works, Mike Henry, told the gathering, that the project is slated to commence within another few weeks and will be completed within one year of the commencement of works. “Before the start of the next tourist season…you’ll have your new roadway,” he explained.
He added that alternative routes and other temporary measures are to be indentified to reduce the level of inconvenience to the public during the period of work.
Mr. Leslie Chang, CEO of Surrey Paving and Aggregates, assured the gathering that his company is committed to minimizing the inconvenience to the public and will be carrying out its activities in a highly professional manner. This he explains is important if the company is to retain its ISO 9000 certification since this project will be submitted for review by the ISO 9000 body. ISO 9000 is a family of standards for quality management systems. It is maintained by the ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies. He told the gathering that the company would not be undertaking work during peak hours, but would instead utilize the night hours to do much of the work.
Local businessman Mark Kerr Jarrett was also commended by Minister Henry for his contribution in making lands available to facilitate the development.
