THE sirens could be heard from a distance approaching, the horde of armed, steel-faced men made it clear to onlookers that something was happening.

The convoy of vehicles finally reached the turn-off, from the Mandela Highway and the men’s faces hardened even more as they peered for anything that could be a threat to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

Her cordially royal wave from the vehicle softened the faces and alerted everyone that we were now ready to embark on the tour of

the soon-to-be opened thoroughfare.

Sirens now off, the riders piloted the way as their lights flashed, indicating the protection of someone stately despite the fact that the tour would be the only vehicles along the roadway.

Dodging potholes in Caymanas, the convoy witnessed the dust nuisance that the people of the community sacrifice to encounter daily for the completion of the roadway. After going around a bend, the climb began and it felt now that we were on a newly paved roadway. With neither bumps nor potholes in sight, the convoy picked up a little speed.

A break in the journey saw the prime minister greeting all workers at that section as they lined up to get their one-on-one with her. It was all smiles and pleasantries. After greeting the PM, workers took out their phones to record and savour their moment with the country’s leader who commended their work.

It was then a rush between the media and the police to get back into the vehicles and be closer to the front to decrease the time it took to get to the scene at the next meet-and-greet.

To the left were hills of split marl and red dirt some with scaffolding in front of them indicating that work is still being done to control the earth, and to the right the occasional bits of calming green vegetation. A set of goats determined to get in on the act.

Unable to keep track of our location, as there were no signs in place and no indication of the communities we are bypassing, we came to another stop along a section of the roadway. The PM again greeted the workers who hurriedly came off the scaffolding to meet the woman of the hour who again commended the work and was briefed of what was left to be done. She then daringly went to the edge of the road to observe the beauty of the island from a high vantage point that overlooked the plain.

So breathtaking is the beauty of the island that we passed some goats which chose a section of the roadway for their space, to be one with nature and relax, despite the fact that that section was unpaved. As traffic slowed, we came to the realisation that we had reached a majestic view of the lush greenery of the island which highlighted the rows of orange trees in the Bog Walk vicinity. This site, I believe, will see multiple nature lovers stopping, despite being in a rush, to be one with nature and appreciate God’s creation.

The tour ended at an incomplete toll booth in Treadways, St Catherine.

The North-South leg of Highway 2000 is 66 kilometres and runs from Caymanas in St Catherine to Ocho Rios in St Ann. The roadway will allow motorists to travel from Kingston to Ocho Rios in less than an hour as the tour with the stops was approximately 40 minutes.

Last week, managing director of the National Road Operating and Construction Company (NROCC), Ivan Anderson told the Jamaica Observer that the roadway will meet the targeted deadline and will be opened in the first quarter of next year.