MODIFICATIONS to the new traffic system implemented Monday in Spanish Town brought some improvement for motorists heading into the old capital yesterday, with junior transport minister, Fenton Ferguson promising a smoother flow of traffic by the end of the week.

“I believe that by the end of the week we should get to a point where we can put up all the necessary signs to help the motorists, because that is one of the problem where a lot of them are confused with the new system,” Ferguson said.

But yesterday, motorists expressed mixed views about the modifications.

“It is a little easier this morning,” noted truck driver, Dudley Mitchell.

Michael McLennon added that, with time, the system will work.

However, motorists like Christopher Marsden said the new system will not work as it needs more modification.

“It is still bad because it took me 20 minutes to get from Central Village to here, (Jose Marti roundabout) which is really a two-minute ride,” he told the Observer yesterday while on his way to work in Spanish Town.

His comments echoed that of other passing motorists, who all predicted that the system would fail.

Yesterday’s back-up began at approximately 8:00 am in the vicinity of Central Village to the Jose Marti roundabout — a far cry from Monday’s pile-up which began almost two hours earlier and stretched almost four miles from the Caymanas Crossing straight into the heart of Spanish Town.

There was chaos and confusion as motorists were caught in traffic for more than three hours, even though the police returned the bypass to a two-way almost 40 minutes earlier than its 9:00 am schedule.

The gridlock forced the National Works Agency (NWA) to implement a one-hour reduction in the one-way system and the closure of some secondary roads in Spanish Town during the morning and evening peak hours.

The one-way system to Kingston on the bypass now operates between 6:00 am and 9:00 am, rather than 6:00 am to 9:00 am as originally planned. Meanwhile, a one-way system was put into effect between Barrett Street and Oxford Road between 6:00 and 8:00 in the mornings. Both systems are reversed between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, with an exception for buses operated by the government-owned Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC). An additional lane was created for the buses heading in either direction during the time the one-way system is in effect.

According to Patrick Murdock, the inspector responsible for traffic management in St Catherine north, the modifications, especially those which transformed Barrett Street and Oxford Road to one-way system, brought much success yesterday.

“We are satisfied that the system is working. Although there was heavy build-up of traffic, it was moving,” he told the Observer.

Yesterday, Ferguson promised to “continue to meet with the stakeholders” to make the necessary changes that will facilitate the smooth flow of traffic.

“It is important that we continue to look at it as a process still unfolding and, to that extent, whatever we have to do to make it work we are going to be doing it and we are getting the corporation of everyone,” he said.

According to Ferguson, works to facilitate the new changes are expected to be completed by October 2004 at a cost of nearly J$317 million. Already, work on both the Old Harbour and Jose Marti roundabouts have begun, with work on the soft shoulders and roadway expected to begin in the next two weeks.

Member of parliament for the area, Olivia “Babsy” Grange said she will do whatever she can to make the new system work and urged the government to ensure that funds are in place to avoid any glitches in the completion of the project.

“I want to see this work and because I want to see it work, I am working with the programme,” she said, noting that the NWA needs to find a way to move some of the traffic out of Spanish Town.

Meanwhile, mayor for Spanish Town, Dr Raymoth Notice reiterated his point that the system will work more effectively with the co-operation of everyone.

“It failed yesterday, but I don’t believe in failure and I still think it will work,” he said.