WORK along Three Miles in the vicinity of Portia Simpson Miller Square in the Corporate Area is progressing as scheduled, according to the state-run National Works Agency.

The project, which began on March 12, is expected to last 18 months. It will, among other things, see the construction of two overhead bridges along the major thoroughfare.

Natalee Bloomfield, communication officer at National Works Agency (NWA), said the preliminary stages of the bridge’s construction is in high gear.

“The work at Three Miles is on track,” she told the Jamaica Observer‘s weekly Auto magazine yesterday. “It is part of the Hagley Park Road Improvement Project. Preparation work for the bridges will continue for this month into next.”

The higher, longer overpass will be constructed along Hagley Park Road and Marcus Garvey Drive. It will be at a height of about 56 feet above the existing road level, while the second, along Spanish Town Road will be seven metres high.

With a price tag of US$56.4 million, the road improvement project is aimed at removing the bottleneck and congestion along the major corridor. The upgrade is expected to increase the capacity of the road network by at least 60 per cent, address pedestrian safety, and improve traffic management and vehicle separation. The planned works also include the widening of approximately 3.7 kilometres of roadway.

It is being implemented by China Harbour Engineering and is part of the Major Infrastructure Development Programme.

According to the NWA, the work should also include sewerage and water pipe installation as the thrust is to collaborate with the utility providers on these major projects, to lessen or eliminate the need to disrupt the road surface or infrastructure after the works have been completed.

The number of improved, signalised intersections along the corridor will be increased from three to seven with the Hagley Park Preparatory School pedestrian crossing, and the Keesing Avenue and Omara and Margaret Villa roads junctions to benefit from new traffic signals.

The existing traffic signals at Waltham Park Road, Woodglen and Maxfield avenues will be improved to include the installation of Licence Plate Recognition cameras, which will assist with ensuring that motorists use the much-improved four-lane dual carriageway safely. Exclusive left and right turning lanes will be provided at some critical intersections.

No significant upgrade has been done on the corridor for more than three decades and over that period, there has been a considerable increase in the volume of traffic, currently measured to be in excess of 30,000 vehicles per day on some sections of the roadway.