MONTEGO BAY, St James — Homer Davis, the minister with responsibility for coordinating special projects and major developments in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), says there could be a traffic nightmare for motorists over the three-and-a-half- year construction period of the Montego Bay bypass.

Construction is expected to commence by next year.

He argued that due to the magnitude of the work to be undertaken in the already congested resort city, there is a need to get stakeholders — such as the St James Municipal Corporation, National Works Agency and the National Water Commission — on board long before the start of construction and that the said stakeholders should “start planning from now, because this activity is going to cause a lot of traffic problems”.

“Can you imagine [that] we [will be] working on [the road] between West Green and Catherine Hall, on to Howard Cooke, and we [will be] working on [the road] from West Green all the way up to the clock? Taking out the bridge at Westgate and putting in another bridge to have four lane[s] all the way up to the clock, to have four lane[s] all the way through West Green?” he asked incredulously.

He pointed out, however, that in an effort to tackle the expected traffic woes, some alternative routes are to be upgraded. While not listing the routes, Davis disclosed that “contracts are out for these roads”.The junior minister was addressing the launch of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 2022 telethon at the S Hotel in St James on Wednesday. Proceeds from the event will be used to purchase equipment for Cornwall Regional Hospital.Noting the importance of the public’s involvement in the multi-billion-dollar projet, Davis said consultations will be held to get the views of the public.

Some $4.9 billion has been set aside this financial year for land acquisition and the continuation of design for the perimeter road, which will be 15 kilometres long.In November last year Prime Minister Andrew Holness signed a US$274.5-million contract for the construction of the Montego Bay bypass road, in a contractual agreement between the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC), which will be undertaking the construction works.The scope of work includes construction on the Long Hill road and rehabilitation of the Barnett Street and West Green road.

Davis noted that, based on discussions with technocrats, the hope is that before the end of the calendar year some form of work will commence on the project.“So, we have to be prepared [for] how we are going to deal with traffic, how we are going to get our people to and from work in a timely manner, how do you get the children to and from work in a timely manner. And so, the discussion with the chamber of commerce and other stakeholders must start now.

“This project is a legacy project and we are not about talking — this one will have a lot of action,” Davis declared.