AS of next Monday, clients of the Island Traffic Authority will be served from a new location.

The office, which has been in existence for more than 70 years, is to be relocated from its Manhattan Road address in Kingston to premises at 145 Maxfield Avenue in the Corporate Area.

Administrator at the authority, Julette DaCosta, told the Observer that the move had long “been in the making” as the current facility was “no longer conducive to good working standards”.

“The building was in a very deplorable condition and we were having some problems…the move was a very long time in coming,” DaCosta said.

She, however, noted that the move would not be final as the intention was to demolish the old structure and erect a new facility that will permanently house the authority, which has been slated for revamping since 1999.

“The move is temporary. The old building is going to be demolished and a new one erected as part of the modernisation,” DaCosta told the Observer. She was, however, unable to give the timeline over which the work would be undertaken.

In the meantime, she said clients had been notified of the move, which will take place between Thursday and Friday of this week.

The Government in 2005 announced its intentions to modernise the Authority as part of the Public Sector Modernisation Project (PSMP),which aims to enhance service delivery and efficiency in government agencies and departments. Plans had also been in place to transform the authority into an executive agency by April of 2006.

The administrator told the Observer that while this has not yet taken place, the relocation was a move towards the modernisation of the authority.

The ITA oversees motor vehicle inspection, the granting of certificates of fitness; testing applicants for drivers’ licences; issuing special permits; keeping record of all road accidents; and regulating traffic on the nation’s roads.